Branching Towards You
by CayCullen
Summary: Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.
1. Captain America Hunting

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

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_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

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Chapter One: Captain America Hunting

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Tony knows it was a stupid to want all the Avengers to come stay for a week or two, but hey, once you save the world with a group of people you kind of grow attached. Also, to be honest, he wanted to show off all the money he spent on all of the rooms he had built.

It was a miracle that he had got them all to agree, he's still a little confused on how Thor even found out that he wanted them to come visit, but he's not going to question how he discovered the fact. They were all coming. Everyone, besides Thor and Bruce, fought him on it and said that they didn't want to come, but Tony had got them here. Clint and Natasha were the hardest to convince, but once Tony vowed to not leave them alone, they caved. Steve was coming too, and he hardly gave him any lip about it. Tony assumed he was only coming because the rest of the team would be there, and what kind of team leader would he be if he didn't' show up? Tony was honestly surprised that he agreed, though. After everything that had happened between them, he thought the Captain wouldn't even hear of it.

He did, though, and they were all about to arrive.

Steve was wary about accepting the offer. At first, he declined immediately. Why would he want to live in an ugly tower that contained nothing but technological luxury that he wouldn't understand? Not to mention he would be living under Tony Stark's roof, meaning that the "My house, my rules" comeback would constantly be used against him.

However, once Steve found out that the others had agreed to the offer, he began to warm up to the idea. It would be convenient for their missions if they were all together. He would never admit it to anyone else, but he also missed the team and hated being in his own apartment all by himself.

The first person to arrive to the top floor of Stark Tower was, of course, Thor. He was as happy as ever, and Tony had to admit that even though they didn't get to talk a lot before, he was very happy to see him. Thor was hilarious, and a lot fun when they weren't trying to save the world.

"Man of Iron! My friend! It is great to be in your presence again!" Thor greeted and shook his hand the second he walked in.

"Call me, Tony, Thor," Tony insisted in a slight groan, "I don't walk around calling you the god of thunder 24/7...and it's good to see you too." Tony confessed with a smile.

The second person to arrive was Bruce Banner. Bruce pulled up in a mustang that Tony had given him. He didn't ask for it, but Tony had insisted that he had too many cars as it was. 'Typical Tony,' Bruce thought. He grabbed the two boxes that he had brought and stacked them on top of each other. He walked to the entrance, locking the doors to his mustang during the process. He pushed a button next to the sliding doors and sent a phone call to the Tower's intercom.

"Sir, Dr. Banner is on the intercom." JARVIS informed them and Thor jumped at the voice. Tony laughed, if that made Thor jump, he bet it would make Steve jump.

"Don't worry, man. It's just JARVIS. He's an A.I" Tony explained and Thor looked at him with a confused, blank expression.

Tony sighed. "It's a really smart computer that knows just about everything. It's a friend. Not a foe. So, don't go slamming your hammer into the walls if he talks to you." Tony pleaded. "Tell him to come on up, JARVIS!" Tony added and walked over to where he kept all the alcohol, telling Thor to follow.

The sliding doors unlocked and opened for Bruce. "Welcome home, Dr. Banner." a computerized voice greeted as he walked through the doors. Bruce grinned. The Tower reeked of science. He couldn't wait to work in Tony's lab. He stopped at the elevator. The doors opened.

He stepped inside and JARVIS spoke to him once again, "Which floor do you desire, Dr. Banner?" The doors closed and Bruce placed his boxes on the floor.

"Top floor, JARVIS." He replied, hoping he remembered the computer's name. It had been a while since Tony spoke of him. After a few moments, he had reached the top floor. He saw Thor and Tony getting some drinks.

"Look who it is! Big green and scary." Tony greeted happily after pouring Thor a drink.

"It's great to see you, my friend!" Thor said and walked over and shook his hand.

"You too, Thor." Bruce said with a smile. He and Thor weren't that close, but apparently Thor and the Hulk were. Ever since they saved the world together, Thor seemed to like the Hulk more. "Here, we're drinking." Tony said and gave him a small glass. Bruce took it hesitantly.

"Tony, it's 10 in the morning." Bruce pointed out.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, but it's okay because we're celebrating the fact I decided to get up at this hour." Tony said and took a sip of his own drink. Bruce laughed a little before taking a sip of the whiskey Tony had given him.

After not seeing any other luggage Bruce felt curiosity bubble inside him. '"Where are the others?" Bruce inquired. "I only see my two boxes and Thor's hammer," he said.

"They aren't here yet, and I'm going to give them another hour or two before I decide if they ditched us or not. If they did...we'll all suit up and go drag their asses here." Tony said simply and took a sip of his drink.

"I don't think they would like that, Tony." Thor commented.

Tony scoffed. "Of course they wouldn't, if they didn't want it to happen they should have showed up." Tony added.

"They'll come, Tony. There is no need to go on a hunt...yet." Thor said with a hopeful smile.

Natasha piloted the jet, while Clint made sure their things were in order. Clint had taught her how to pilot a jet after Loki's invasion. He wanted her to be sure to operate their vehicles if something ever happened to him.

"Well," Natasha said. "There it is." She nodded towards the Tower as it appeared closer and closer to them. Clint taped their last box shut and returned to the cockpit.

"Yep, that's definitely Stark's work." Hinting that Tony enjoyed showing off and had rich taste.

Natasha lowered the plane onto the nearby platform. She was thankful that she and Clint had decided to take their smaller jet rather than the bigger one that contained the more powerful weapons. Clint suggested that Tony would probably enhance whatever they brought anyways. Natasha shut the engine off as the jet came to a halt. The doors opened and she and Clint each grabbed their boxes. Through the glass windows, Natasha saw Tony, Thor, and Bruce drinking.

"Look, it's the assassins." Tony said once he saw Natasha and Clint heading towards the glass doors.

"Don't call them that." Bruce pleaded.

"Why the hell not? That's what they are." Tony said as he began heading for the doors.

"I just don't think assassins like to be called assassins. You could piss them off and they'll kill you when you least expect it. I mean, I have nothing to worry about, but you sure do." Bruce said.

Tony just rolled his eyes at him. "Don't worry about me, Bruce. Natasha loves me!" He insisted.

Thor and Bruce both let out a laugh because that was an obvious lie. "Okay, what about Clint then?" Bruce questioned.

Tony paused before putting his hand on the door. "I'm still working on him. He'll warm up to me, everyone does." Tony said before opening the door for them.

"Welcome, my favorite assassins!" Tony greeted.

Natasha stared at him blankly and then quirked an eyebrow. 'Are you kidding me?' she thought.

Clint, on the other hand, grinned and high-fived Tony. "Thanks, man of iron!" He replied. He walked up to Bruce and Thor and greeted them.

Natasha nodded her head at all three of them with a small smile. She wasn't much for small talk, unless it was necessary or someone else had initiated the conversation first. She rolled her eyes at the alcohol. 'Typical Stark.' she thought.

"Is Cap here yet?" Clint asked Thor and Bruce. "No, not yet. We're still hoping we get the chance to suit up and hunt him down." Tony said as he joined them.

This caught Natasha's attention. "Now that sounds like fun." she said honestly. "Seems like our super soldier enjoys hiding." she added, referring to him hiding in the ice.

Clint nodded, pouring himself a glass of wine. "Winner should be awarded something though." He chimed. "Like biggest room, perhaps?"

"Sounds good to me." Tony said. He already had the biggest room, so whoever won was getting the second biggest. "I'm up for the hunt!" Thor said happily. "Are there any rules though?" He asked.

"Question. If necessary, can we hurt Cap if he tries to run?" Clint asked, cracking a grin.

Thor let out a cackle and Bruce snickered slightly. To be fair, it was a good question. Natasha, however, held onto her serious look. She wanted the biggest room and she was determined to leave as soon as Tony said the word.

"No. If we hurt him we'll never hear the end of it...and by 'we,' I mean 'me', since he likes to blame me for everything." Tony said and downed the rest of his drink. "How about we raise the stakes a bit more? Winner get's biggest room and get's to pick what we eat tonight." Tony suggested. He was going to win already; he had to make it somewhat interesting.

It was apparent that the others were slightly disappointed. Natasha especially. She loved the idea of whacking Captain America unconscious and dragging his patriotic ass to the tower. She lived for that kind of action.

"But what difference does it make? You and Cap always kiss and make up." Clint said.

"Haha. Very funny." Tony said sarcastically and then sighed. They were his house guests, he should give them what they wanted. "Fine. Do whatever it takes to bring him back here. Only rule is...don't kill him-if that's even possible…" He mumbled the last part.

And just like that, the race had begun. They all scrambled out of their seats and darted toward the multiple exits.

"See ya, boys!" Natasha announced, racing to the Jet before Clint. Clint cursed under his breath, then raced to his box and pulled out his bow and his set of grapple-arrows. He closed one eye and shot a grapple-arrow to the nearest building and took off in the opposite direction of Natasha. Bruce grabbed the keys to his mustang. He didn't want to turn into the Hulk and disturb the peace. Well, except if he got to Steve at the same time as someone else. If he had a shot, he wanted to win.

It only took a moment for Tony to suit up, and he even waved at Natasha as he zoomed past her. He knew where Steve lived, Brooklyn. All of the team knew that basic information but he had the upper hand because he had JARVIS.

"Okay, JARVIS, I need Cap's address." Tony said as he flew through the sky, looking behind him to make sure Natasha was far behind him. She was nowhere in sight and he smiled.

"I can give it to you, Sir. But what makes you positive he's at home?" JARVIS asked.

"Where else would he be? It's not like he has friends." Tony said and cursed when he saw a figure not too far in front of him. Thor. "Just give me the address, fast. I'm falling behind here." Tony said and began to fly even faster as JARVIS gave him the directions to Steve's apartment building.

Steve had gathered his belongings in a standard duffel bag. He packed his sketch book and pencils, a thin photo album, a medal he had earned from serving in the army, a couple pairs of clothes and his Captain America suit. Anything else he had, he felt like leaving behind. He grabbed the keys to his motorcycle and started it up. He drove down the familiar streets and stared longingly at the place that raised him. As much as he wanted to let go, Steve found himself pulling over at a river about 20 miles from his old apartment.

He stopped his bike and hopped off, letting his heart take in the river one last time. He sat down on a nearby bench and listened to the flowing water the same way he heard it when he was a child. Once his dad had died, his mom spent more time with Steve. They came here once a month, Steve and his mother. This place was special to him. He loved the way the water glistening in the sunlight during the day and reflected the stars at night. He loved the way the trees shaded the area and the way the leaves would change color during the fall. He loved the way the ground was wild, yet tame. He loved the fact his parents fell in love here. He loved every detail about it. He opened his bag and pulled out his sketch pad and a pencil and he began drawing the only place that felt like home to him.

Tony didn't know when fighting had been part of the rules but it now was, he was in a full on air battle with Thor, firing repulsor shots at him and doing his best to dodge that damned hammer. It had got him a few times. "

I don't think he's home, Sir. I've called him." JARVIS said.

"He wouldn't answer if he knew it was my number!" Tony yelled and fired another repulsor.

"The number was blocked, he couldn't have known." JARVIS informed him calmly. Tony was now wrestling Thor in the air. "

What shall I do now, Sir?" JARVIS asked.

"I'll tell you later! I'm a little busy at the moment." Tony said and Thor seemed to be determined to bring Tony back to the ground.

Meanwhile, Bruce sped down the street and stopped in at Shawarma. He scanned the restaurant, looking for the blond outcast in early 1900s clothing. Nothing. When he came out of the restaurant, he saw Hawkeye grappling across the city, building by building. Bruce looked away, his anger boiling his blood. 'Not yet, Bruce,' he warned himself. 'Not yet.'

Thor had got Tony to the ground. Instead of fighting, Tony had been driven to try to reason with him. "Look, how about we work together? If you help me, I'll let have the room and I get to pick the food." Tony said.

Thor looked at him thoughtfully. "You're already in the biggest room. Are you not?" He asked in tone that indicated that he already knew the answer.

Tony sighed and lifted up his helmet so Thor could see his face. "Yes. It's my house. Of course I am! But you can have the second largest room if you help me." Tony suggested.

Thor thought for a moment. "I don't see why not." Thor decided but they both stopped to look up in the air when Natasha in the jet went flying by at an incredible speed.

"We better get moving, Point Break." Tony said, closing the helmet and resumed zooming into the air.

Natasha smirked at the two identified men below her. She pressed a button and began firing round of bullets at Tony and Thor.

"Sir, there's-"

"-I SEE THEM!" Tony yelled to JARVIS and dodged the bullets. A few hit him, but thankfully, they didn't wound the suit too much.

Thor launched his hammer at the jet. Natasha tried her best to swivel past the demigod's weapon, but he had thrown it at the perfect moment. The left wing of her jet was hit and damaged, but the jet was still in good shape to fly.

"Hit it again! Go for the engine this time!" Tony yelled when he was at Thor's side again. He would fire a few missiles at the jet but he didn't want to kill Natasha.

"I shall try!" Thor announced.

He soared over to the jet's blind spot and wound up his hammer. Natasha predicted the motion and lowered the plane at the last minute, causing Thor's hammer to miss the jet's engine by an inch. She smirked in victory towards the guys, but when she turned her head, she wasn't expecting the flashing light of an explosive arrow to be on the hood of the jet.

She gasped and quickly changed course, directing the jet to a safe landing. She unlocked the doors of the jet and dove out of the jet, while the mild explosion ruptured the jet's engine. A few buildings away, a satisfied look crept on to Hawkeye's face.

"Well, that's one down, bad news is now, we've found Hawkey." Tony said as he and Thor landed.

Hawkeye nodded at the men and decided that rather than engaging in battle, inspecting the area in a different direction was a safer bet. While they stood there, he resumed shooting grapple arrows, trying to locate Steve.

They were right in front of Steve's apartment building. Thankfully, not many people were around. Steve lived in an pretty empty part of town.

"We're here, we've won." Thor declared simply, as if being at the building justified anything.

"No, it's just getting started." Tony said in a sigh. He was starting to wish Steve would have just showed up at Stark Tower. This was becoming more work than fun.

Both Tony and Thor went inside by breaking into Steve's apartment. The two looked around everywhere. They had also broken a few objects and moved the room around. Once Steve got back home he'd probably be pissed, but they were focused on thing; winning. Steve was nowhere to be found.

"I thought you said this is where he lived!" Thor said a bit angrily. He was relying on Tony so they could win and Tony was letting him down.

"He does! Look at this place! It's so out dated! Who else's house would it be? He's hiding somewhere. He must be in the city somewhere…but where?" Tony asked himself.

He knew that Steve had a thing for drawing, maybe he went to go hide out in a coffee shop. It was a little modern for Steve, but very possible. "You in the mood for coffee?" Tony asked Thor who looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"What does that have to-"

"-He could be at a coffee shop." Tony said, cutting Thor off and walking out the door.

Bruce had gotten lost for the second time. He had checked out a few other local places, but Steve was nowhere to be found. He sped down the street he was on and at that very moment, a deer pranced out of a bush and jumped in front of his mustang. He gasped and swerved into a small nature preserve. He saw a river approaching and slammed on the brakes. He panted and then looked up and saw a terrified Steve Rogers staring at him with his jaw dropped.

"Well, this is the last place I expected to find you." Bruce said with an awkward laugh and Steve just stared at him. "Everyone's looking for you. Hunting you to be more specific. Oh, and they're all willing to take you by force." Bruce informed him.

Steve sighed. "Can't you guys ever settle things in a more organized fashion?" He asked, shaking his head. He returned his attention to his sketch pad, adding a few finishing touches to the trees. He was almost done. "Sit with me, Banner." He said, motioning towards the empty space of the bench with his spare hand.

Bruce hesitated, he didn't want to tell Steve about the bet. That would only make him not want to come back with him, so Bruce got out of the car and hoped the others wouldn't find them. He really didn't want Tony to show up and have to fight him as the Hulk just so he could win this hunt. Bruce sat beside Steve and looked down at his sketch.

"You're really good. The guys told me you could draw...but when Tony said it, he made it sound like you just doodled or something." Bruce said.

Steve smiled at Bruce. He had never drawn in front of anyone in this decade. He liked to keep it to himself. People knew about his talent when he was fragile and tiny Steve. He loved it. It was something his grandfather had possessed. It made him feel closer to him.

"Thank you. Yeah, it kind of was a doodle. I drew a map for Stark to show him how to get to my apartment once. It was an effortless sketch." he added, shading in the trunks of the trees.

"This is the place where my parents met." Steve said, changing the subject.

"That's...neat." Bruce said honestly, he could tell that everything they were talking about was very personal to Steve.

"It's a very nice place. When did they meet? I mean...if you want to talk about it." Bruce said awkwardly. He wasn't good with personal stuff, but he could try to be.

"Isn't it? It's the only place that I would like to take with me to our...new place." Steve said, lifting the sketch pad. "They met in the 1906. I don't know the whole story," He lied, not wanting to go on and on about his parents.

He knew he had the potential of drowning Bruce with every boring detail. He loved the story, but that didn't mean everyone else would love it. So he continued, giving Bruce the short-version of the story, "but my mom liked to climb trees and my dad was a lumberjack. He wanted to cut down the tree and she screamed. They became friends and spent all their time together here and fell in love. They carved their names on that tree." Steve said and pointed with his pencil at the specific tree.

"Wow. That's a great story." Bruce said honestly, it was still kind of mind blowing for even him to think about Steve's parents being alive in 1906. "That kind of story will get you any girl you want in heart beat." Bruce said with a laugh.

Steve laughed. "I'll keep that in mind." He said, and then added, "I think it's a great story, too." He said just as he completed his drawing. He smiled at his work and then looked over at Bruce. "Thank you, Bruce. I needed to do this before I left."

He grabbed his bag. "Are you ready to go home?" He asked.

"Yeah, and no problem. Let's get going before the others find us." Bruce said and began heading back to the car. "Oh and just to let you know, I think this whole thing was Tony's idea. Natasha and Clint just put it into action." Bruce said and got in the car.

"Stark's idea, eh?" Steve said. "Well, in that case, we're leaving my bike behind just to throw him off." He said with a chuckle. He loved picturing a pissed off Tony flying across Brooklyn and then seeing his motorcycle standing in all its glory without him. He would be beyond furious. Steve laughed.

"How long until they figure it out?" Steve asked, as he got in the car, buckled his seat belt and watched as his childhood started to fade into the background.

"Hours. At least, until it gets dark, they're all looking near where you live, they'll never come looking here, and even they do, the bike will only make them look even longer." Bruce said with a laugh.

"When we get back to the tower, you and I will get whatever rooms we want. We also get to pick what we want to eat tonight." Bruce said proudly.

Steve laughed. He couldn't wait to make Tony get a taste of his own medicine. He made a mental not to have a camera ready when Tony gave up and returned to the Tower to find he and Bruce hanging out. Steve grinned and looked at Bruce. "Biggest rooms _and_ dinner? Wow! Does that include dessert?" he asked.

Bruce laughed and thought for a moment. "I'm not sure but we'll be there _way_ before they show up, they can't stop us from ordering it." Bruce said. He sent a smirk over to Steve and they both couldn't wait to get back to Stark Tower just to see the look on everyone's face when they walked through the doors.

Hours later, it was now dark. Everyone had given up on fighting and was now simply determined to find Steve just so they could kick his ass for hiding from them for so long. Tony was flying right with Thor, scanning the area down below. When all of a sudden, he saw Steve's bike in the middle of nowhere.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." He hissed, causing Thor to look down towards the bike.

"That's not the Captain's source of transportation, is it?" Thor asked.

Tony had JARVIS double check and JARVIS informed him that it was, in fact, Steve's bike. "I cannotbelieve this! We've spent all day and night looking for him, I've got dents in my amour because of him! And he's been in the freaking woods all day? That's just- He's never going to hear the end of this from me!" Tony threatened.

"I am seriously considering wrecking that bike of his right now..." He mumbled and he and Thor began to make their landing near Steve's bike.

Natasha gave up a long time ago. After the jet breaking down, she didn't feel like chasing Steve. It was too much work. She was about 10 miles away from the Tower, so she thought she would just explore the town and grab something to eat. She stopped at Starbucks and grabbed a black coffee and continued down the streets of New York. The bright lights flickered and illuminated the shadowy streets. A couple hours later, she could see the glowing shape of the Tower appear closer and closer with each step that she took. She was greeted by Bruce and Steve sitting in Bruce's mustang outside the Tower, listening to music. 'Lucky bastard.' she thought.

"Hey Cap, good to see you again." Natasha called as she approached the men.

"Miss Romanov," Steve said with surprise and smiled at her, "Good to see you too." Steve greeted and shook her hand.

"We've all been on a man hunt looking for you, how long ago did Bruce find you?" Natasha asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Bruce laughed. "Crashed into is more like what happened. I almost hit a deer and I found him at a nice spot in the woods." Bruce explained and caused Natasha to almost smile.

"We got here a LONG time ago. We don't want to go in because-what was that thing called again, the computer that's Stark's best friend?" Steve asked Bruce.

"JARVIS." Bruce answered.

Steve thanked him and looked back at Natasha. "We don't want JARVIS telling Tony that Bruce found me. We want to keep the wild goose chase up for as long as possible." Steve said with a smile. Natasha smiled very faintly.

"Sounds like a good plan, but what are we going to do while we wait?" She asked.

"I say we go get something to eat. We can eat without them. Makes our victory even sweeter." Bruce suggested and Natasha and Steve nodded.

"Where are we going?" Natasha asked as she squished into the middle of the mustang.

"A pizza joint. Steve and I thought that pizza was the best, but after, we're going to find Steve some apple cake." Bruce said and started up the car.

Clint had shot another grapple arrow on the tree where Steve's bike has standing near. He glided down the zip-line and landed on his feet. He remembered the bike. The bike even had a small, patriotic star sticker on the license plate.

'Definitely Roger's.' he confirmed to himself.

He checked the ignition for a key and found nothing. He cursed and decided to scope the area for any sign of human activity. He found a tree with a large heart enclosing the letters "S" and "J" carved into it. It looked like it had been there for many years. Clint turned around and he noticed some weird tire tracks about 30 feet from Steve's bike. That was all the evidence he needed to inform him that he wasn't getting the biggest room. He cursed and began making his way back to the Tower; arrow by arrow.

"Okay, I'm starting to think that Captain America has gone missing." Tony said to Thor as they were now flying back to the tower. They were giving up. This was just stupid. It was 9 at night now and they had been looking for Steve since 10 in the morning.

"I'm sure one of the others has found him and taken him back to your very tall home." Thor assured him.

Tony scoffed. "No. JARVIS would have told me if he came back to the tower. Let's just get home and get something to eat, I don't care if they're there or not." Tony said simply. Thor laughed at Tony's clear anger. He couldn't even see his face but he could tell the man was seething.

Steve, Bruce, and Natasha were just picking up the pizza. "Hey! Here's an idea. We could make those campfire things with the marshmallows in front of the Tower." Steve suggested.

He had no idea what they were called, but he remembered Phil, may he rest in peace, talking to him about how he went to camp over a summer and while they made the unnamed snack, he would pretend that he was Captain America and the marshmallows were grenades and the fire was a fit of lava or something. Steve smiled at the thought of Young Phil running around pretending to be him. It was a cute thought.

Bruce laughed and Natasha cracked a small smile. "Believe it or not but I'm up for a great campfire, and S'mores would be great, but I think we could get arrested for starting a fire in the middle of the street." Bruce and Steve looked slightly disappointed.

"We can always go to the park though, I know we can have them there." Natasha suggested.

Steve perked up a bit, but then Bruce's phone rang, he pulled his phone out and saw that it was Tony.

"It's Tony should-"

"-Answer it!" Steve urged with a smile. "Tell him your still looking for me!" He added.

Bruce laughed a little before picking up the phone, he had no idea Steve was such a prankster. "Hey, Tony." Bruce greeted.

"Where the hell are you? It's 9 at night." Tony said.

"Well, good evening to you too, Tony." Bruce said sarcastically.

Tony groaned. "Don't start with me, I am pissed off! We couldn't find, Cap! I'm starting to think he's screwing with us or something." Tony said.

Bruce had to fight a laugh. "Maybe he's just avoiding you, Tony." Bruce suggested.

Tony sighed. "I don't even care what he's doing anymore! I've been looking for Stars and Stripes for 11 hours now, and trust me, I am not a desperate man. I will not look for him any longer...Thor! Put the Wii remote Down! Clint, don't you dare let him near that thing! I will not have you breaking my television!"

Bruce actually laughed out loud at that, Tony was at home with a video-game-curious-Thor.

"Stop laughing, Banner! It's not _your_ TV they could be breaking. Anyways, where are you?" Tony asked.

"I'm still looking for Steve." Bruce lied.

"Well, give up and come home." Tony said simply. "We have Chinese food." He added.

Bruce looked at Steve and Natasha with a smile. "Tony, do you like campfires?" He asked.

"Are you high, Bruce?" Tony replied without missing a beat.

"No!" Bruce replied. "I'm just asking because I thought we could have a camp fire at the tower, isn't there a fire place on the top floor?" Bruce asked.

"Why the sudden urge to camp out?" Tony asked curiously.

"No reason." Bruce lied again.

Tony sighed at his odd behavior. "Come on home and we'll get you some S'mores and call it a night." Tony said and hung up without another word.

"So, what did he say? Is he mad?" Steve asked eagerly. He loved torturing Tony like this. It made up for all the countless jokes and nicknames he would use on him. Tony liked to be a trouble maker too.

"He's furious," Bruce said with a chuckle. "And he said he's back at the Tower. He also has Chinese food, thinks I'm high, says Thor can't play on the Wii, says Clint doesn't have custody of the TV, and he said that we can roast S'mores on the roof. Oh! And did I mention that he's furious?" he finished, bursting into a fit of laughter with Steve.

Natasha laughed too, but then shook her head. in disbelief "You two are going to be so dead!" She said with warning.

"Worth it!" Steve beamed. He turned to Bruce. "So, should we head back?" He asked.

"Yes, we should. Let's hurry! I can't wait to see his face when we walk through the door with you." Bruce said.

"I'll admit, that is going to be worth seeing." Natasha agreed.

They all got back in the car and headed for Stark Tower. Tony was in the living room, watching Thor and Clint very closely because he wanted to be sure Clint didn't encourage Thor to break the TV while he played the Wii.

"Why isn't Natasha, back?" Tony asked Clint curiously.

"She probably found something better to do. Hunting Steve wouldn't' have kept her entertained long." Clint said.

He was perfectly happy not bringing up the fact that he was positive that Bruce must have found Steve and they probably met up with Natasha somewhere. Clint just looked back at Thor, who was bowling.

"Hold that button down…No! Don't try to throw the ball!" Clint said and got off the couch to help Thor. Tony couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Sir, Dr. Banner is on his way up." JARVIS said.

Tony got off the couch. "Finally!" Tony said.

"But he's brought-"

"-Marshmallows? Idiot! I told him that we have some." Tony said.

"No, Sir-"

"-It doesn't matter, JARVIS. He's here now." Tony said and opened the door for Bruce as he walked in.

"Took you long enough." Tony said. He had no idea Natasha and Steve were waiting in the hall.

"Okay. You don't get to go hunt for Cap anymore. It makes you cranky." Bruce scolded playfully.

**_"You don't get to go hunt for Cap anymore, it makes your cranky."_** That was the ticket. Both Steve and Natasha knew that this could drive Tony crazy and cause him to become so distracted with fighting that he wouldn't notice his surroundings. Natasha and Steve calmly snuck their way into the Wii bowling tournament.

"Me? Cranky? Oh, _NO!_" They heard Tony shout as he paced back and forth. Natasha gave a small wave at Clint and nodded at Thor. Thor gasped when he saw Steve.

"IT IS THE CA-" He was cut off by Natasha placing a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! Don't let Tony know he's here." she whispered.

Thor shrugged and resumed playing with the Wii. Steve sat next to Clint on the couch, who greeted him with a snicker and a high five. After the wasteful and tiring day Tony put them through, Tony deserved what was coming to him.

"You haven't seen cranky yet, Bruce! Cranky will be when I see him again. I'll kick his ass for making him making us chase him all day long!" Tony yelled.

Bruce just smiled at Tony. "Him making us chase him? You do realize that this was all _your_ idea, right?" Bruce asked.

Tony opened his mouth to argue, but he quickly closed it and deiced on something else. "In my defense, I never thought we'd actually have to hunt Mr. Patriotic down." Tony barked back. He turned around to go sit down on the couch.

"I thought we would have found in ten minutes. No big deal. I didn't think we'd end up like this. And what's with the campfire thing? I really don't understand why you want to do that!" Tony said,

As he sat down without even looking at his surroundings. But he did notice that whoever he was sitting beside had gotten a lot bigger. He turned his head to see Steve smirking at him. Smirking at him smugly. At first, Tony was shocked and then kind of relived to see him but then he just grew angry.

"Y-You! You bastard!" He said with utter shock and now noticed Natasha here as well. "How-Who- When did you- HOW THE HELL ARE YOU HERE RIGHT NOW?" He yelled. Tony was confused and angry. Everyone was laughing which only made him even angrier.

"I believe you said something about kicking the Captain's ass, Tony." Clint added with a laugh and Tony shot him a glare.

"You kick my ass?" Steve questioned. "Now there's a thought. Not a possibility, but a thought." He said, purposely trying to push his buttons even further. Natasha, Bruce, Clint and Thor, all laughed as Tony continued to spiral through different emotions like a PMSing woman.

"I'll make it a possibility if you don't start answering my questions, Rogers! When did someone find you?" Tony demanded.

"Easy there, Stark. You're beginning to make Banner look harmless when he gets angry." He said, rolling his eyes. "When? I have no idea. It was still light outside. I would say around noon?" Steve answered, truly unsure.

Tony was outraged he had looked for Steve all day, had even worried about the man a little, and he didn't even know _when_ someone found him? This was insane! "Who found you?" Tony asked angrily.

"Ironically, it was Banner. Banner first, then Natasha." Steve said. He could have sworn that Tony's arc reactor flashed red for a second.

Tony looked away from Steve and turned his attention to Bruce, who was sitting at the table just laughing his ass off. "I thought we were friends!" Tony hissed, which only made Bruce laugh more.

"We are! I'm just your friend who loves to see you this angry and shocked." Bruce said.

Tony glared at him before looking back at Steve. "I spent 11 hours looking for you, I didn't know if you were hiding, or kidnapped—"

"-Kidnapped? How could I have be-"

"-YOU COULD HAVE BEEN! AND BANNER, YOU SHOULD HAVE CALLED ME!" Tony roared at him.

Bruce looked at him with an honest smile. "Calling you when we found him was never a solid rule." Bruce said simply.

Tony stood up. "You're all horrible! Every single one of you! Well, not you, Thor—Wait-I changed my mind, you are horrible for laughing!" Tony decided and began heading for the roof.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked in a laugh.

"Why do you care? It's not like you'll come looking for me for 11 hours!" Tony huffed.

"You were hunting me, Stark." Steve corrected.

"I don't care! I'm going to the roof!" Tony yelled and walked out the doors.

* * *

**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	2. S'mores

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Two: S'mores

* * *

Natasha sighed once Tony left. "I was kind of hoping that he would kick your ass, Cap." She admitted. "Seeing Stark throw a hissy fit was entertaining, but it's annoying when he has to be a cry baby about it."

Steve closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. As much as he wanted to argue that Tony had pretty much set himself up for this one, he felt guilt settling in._ 'It's not like you'll come looking for me for 11 hours.'_ echoed throughout his mind. He couldn't possibly believe that, can he?

"I'll be right back," Steve said as he left the living room.

He decided to walk up to the roof and try to calm Tony down. He cringed with each step he took away from the group, feeling that he was just going to make things worse, but honestly, how could he? He had never seen Tony this upset before. There had to be more to it. He walked up the steps and opened the sliding door that led to the roof. Tony was sitting with his head buried in his chest with his hands tangled in his hair.

"Stark," he said lightly as he approached him.

Tony looked up at that voice. That voice that was the cause of most of the emotions he was feeling right now. "Ugh, just go away. I really don't want to hear about the hours you spent gallivanting with Natasha and Bruce, while I spent hours in the woods looking for you." Tony spat.

He was angry for the obvious reasons, but also for reasons that he didn't fully understand. He didn't want to admit that there was a part of him that was worried when they didn't find Steve. He also didn't want to address the small relief he felt once he saw him. Steve had worried him and that was making him angry. He hated the fact that Steve was getting to him. If Captain America, the famous stick in the mud, wanted to have some fun, Tony should be happy for him, not mad at him. However, here he was, mad as hell because of all the obvious reasons, and because of the small idiotic and crazy reasons. Why would he worry about Steve? He was perfectly capable of handling himself.

Steve, paused, letting the words sink in. If he left, Tony would remain upset, if not more than he already is. Instead, Steve approached Tony and sat down next to him.

"The woods, eh?" He said. "Actually, if Bruce didn't get lost and nearly drive himself into the river, you probably would have found me." Steve answered with a smile tugging on his cheeks.

Tony let out a laughed at the thought of Bruce almost crashing the car into the river. "Well, I _didn't_ find you. Just that stupid bike of yours." Tony mumbled angrily.

The bike had made Tony think Steve was there, but when they searched every part of the woods, they found no other sign of Steve. In all honesty, the bike made Tony think the worse. He started thinking all the horrible 'what ifs?' What if Steve has been taken by someone stronger than him? What if he's lost somewhere in the city? What if he's unconscious? And so many more horrible 'what if' thoughts that Tony only cursed himself for thinking.

Steve grinned. "That was my idea." Steve admitted. "It was actually kind of a last minute decision because when Banner showed up, he said to hurry because the team wanted my blood or something and I needed more time." He said, gazing at the night sky.

It was nice sitting out here. Steve could see why Tony would vent out here. "Well, I guess if I can trick the famous, Tony Stark. Then I must be doing something right."

"Apparently, you're doing something right." Tony agreed and then looked over at Steve curiously. "Since when did you become a trickster? I always thought you were an uptight solider who couldn't take a joke." Tony commented. He didn't know that Steve could even _want_ to have fun. He was always so…so _Steve_.

Steve thought about it for a second. Tony had a point. He used to hate jokes so much that it earned him the title Captain Tightpants. During the war, everyone cooperated. No one cracked a joke, unless one of their missions was a success or the time was appropriate. That's when it hit Steve. It was when he joined the Avengers and met the one person who cracked a joke every chance he got; Tony.

All the names he used, all the humorous remarks, and all the times he made other people laugh came back to Steve. He smiled to himself.

"I might have had some inspiration from a certain person who is also known to be a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Steve said.

Tony smiled a little, his anger easing for the first time since it rose. He had made Captain America learn to kid around for once. He should get an award or something. Tony's smile turned into a cocky one. He was starting to feel pretty damn proud of himself.

"What can I say? I'm an inspiration for many." Tony said smugly.

"Yeah, I'll give you that one." Steve said. "You do know how to lighten the mood." Steve paused. "It's too bad there aren't two of you."

Tony laughed. "Two of me?" What would you need two of me for-well I can think obvious sex reasons, but I highly doubt that's what you're thinking. I actually think two of me would drive you to the brink of insanity, Rogers." Tony said with a bright smile.

Steve looked at Tony's smile and felt his heart skip a beat. Just 20 minutes ago he was so upset because of him and now here he is smiling because of him. It made Steve feel important for some reason. It was nice to have someone enjoy his old-fashioned company.

"Tonight would have been a good night for two of you. I mean you got the crazy, psychotic Stark cursing to the high heavens and then you got the sarcastic, careless Stark that makes fun of him." Steve started thinking of all the other things two Tony's would be good for.

Tony tried to ignore the way his heart sped up a tiny bit when Steve looked at him. It wasn't because he was looking at him that got to him, it was the way he looked at him. It was an unusual look. 'That was a first,' his mind recorded. Tony quickly shook his head, as if he could shake away the fact Steve was affecting him in a way he wasn't ready to understand.

"'Crazy me' would probably try to kill 'sarcastic me.'" Tony said with a laugh.

Steve joined in with the laughter. "I think 'sarcastic Stark' would kill me before he laid a hand on 'crazy Stark.'" He said. "He would say something like you're too attractive to kill. And it seems that it has become more of a habit for you to target me." He paused again. "Actually, I'm beginning to think one Stark is enough for the world...unless, 'sarcastic Stark' is a better cook."

"Oh, both Starks are fantastic cooks. But, when 'psychotic me' tries to cook I may burn a few things." Tony admitted.

He smiled at Steve, but something Steve had said had just now registered with him. "I don't target you all the time. Just...a lot of the time. And I've gotten better at it. Like tonight, I'm not even mad at you anymore—Okay, that's a lie I kinda am, but not as much as I was. I'm mainly just mad at Bruce and Natasha now. So, from now on, my rage is directed towards them." Tony said with a smile, as if that justified everything.

"What? Am I not good enough for you to hate on anymore?" Steve said with a playful laugh.

"No, you are. I just said I was still mad at you, didn't you listen?" Tony asked. He noticed that Steve's laugh had caused him to laugh. "I deiced to try to be angry with someone else besides you for once." Tony said simply.

"I guess I needed to hear you say it again. I'm just used to being your favorite to hate on." Steve said with a shrug. "You and Bruce are really good friends. It's weird to me that you would disagree with him." Steve pointed out.

"Friends can disagree and still be friends. Happens all the time. And this isn't even a disagreement. I'm just angry that he helped you trick me, his 'supposed' best friend." Tony said. "It doesn't matter. It's over now. Everyone, besides me, had a good laugh and we can all _attempt _to get over it. But I have a horrible feeling that says someone is going to bring this up all the time." Tony added with another laugh.

"Ah, Stark. You would have done the same to me. Also, I would just like to point out that you're laughing quite a bit for someone who didn't find this even the slightest bit funny." Steve said smugly. He felt himself getting cold from the breeze picking up. He crossed his arms, trying to hide the goose bumps. He left his brown leather jacket in Bruce's mustang.

"I'm laughing now only because of how horrible it's going to be for me. I just know that every time we get together now that, Clint, or Bruce, hell, maybe even you, will bring up the time that you guys sent me on an 11 hour search party mission." Tony said.

Tony noticed that Steve had crossed his arms, which made him think he was cold. "Want to go sit by the fire? I have a fire pit we can go turn it on." Tony suggested.

"...Turn on fire?" was all Steve could say. Confusion gave him the inability to say anything more.

Tony sighed at Steve lack of knowledge. "Follow me."

Tony said in a dramatic sigh and stood. A confused Steve followed Tony a few feet away where square shaped thing with a square hole in its center sat.

"Sit down, I'll do some magic." Tony teased and gestured to one of the seats by the square shaped thing. "JARVIS, start us a fire." Tony ordered and looked over at Steve to see if he would jump when he heard JARVIS.

"Right away, Sir." JARVIS said.

Steve didn't even flinch.

'Damn it, someone must have told him,' Tony thought. He looked back to the fire pit and a warm, a fire was now roaring in front of them, warming them both.

Steve's eyes widened, causing the flames to reflect off of his blue eyes. Curious, he reached his hand forward and touched one of the flames. He hissed as it burnt the tips of his fingers. "My God! It's real!" he exclaimed in shock.

He turned to look at Tony, who obviously enjoyed watching clueless Steve. "I remember it took hours to make a fire when my troops and I camped out in different areas. If we didn't have any tinder, I would have to use the friction method." Steve said with a dissatisfied sigh. "I would have loved a box that would ignite fire with the sound of my voice."

Tony felt a little bad that Steve didn't have this 1940's. He wishes he could have been there to help him. He didn't like the thought of Steve somewhere cold and desperate to start a fire. Tony watched Steve's eyes. The fire flickering in them made his heart pick up speed again. "Well, I wish I could time travel and bring this back to you, but sadly, I cannot." Tony said and sat down in a seat beside Steve.

Steve thought about it for a second and then looked up at Tony. "I don't." He said with a genuine smile. "In my opinion, I appreciate its existence more than most people. I mean for you, I bet fire was not really a big deal, it was easy to get to. But, for me, I had to create it with nature. I know a lot of this new technology bothers me, but having fire within your reach, whenever you need it? That's just incredible." Steve said. "I would rather have lived without it and value it now, than to have never valued it in the first place."

Tony smiled at him. He had never heard something so intelligent, fascinating, and philosophical. So, of course, instead of telling Steve all this, Tony's instincts told him to mock Steve. "You sound like such an old man." Tony said with a laugh, but internally, he regrets it because that's not what he thought at all. It was just what he would normally say to Steve.

"Hmm...maybe I should get a red and blue cane to match my shield." Steve said, laughing. "I could also use it to roast marshmallows, which by the way, we never got the chance to make the-ahh...what were they again?" He asking, looking at Tony.

Tony laughed, being more than happy that Steve didn't snap at him for calling him an old man. "First, we still can roast marshmallows there's plenty of time. Second, they're called S'mores." Tony said with a smile.

"Let's go get the others!" Steve said excited. He had never eaten a S'more before and he's been dying to try one.

"You go get them, I'll wait here." Tony said. Steve quickly nodded and left to get the others. "Tell them the stuff for the S'mores is on the table near the drinks!" Tony added and Steve nodded before walking inside.

Tony sat there, trying to understand why he had butterflies in his stomach. He hadn't had a feeling like this since he was teenager. It had something to do with how cute Steve looked when he got excited. Hell, he just thought Steve was cute. This was new...and mostly likely not a good thing.

"Guys! Tony turned on the fire and said we can make S'mores now!" Steve said once he got back to the living room.

Lucky for him, Thor wasn't bowling on the Wii. If he were, he probably would have thrown the Wii remote into the TV.

Instead, Thor hopped off the couch and declared, "We shall feast upon these S'mores!"

Clint and Natasha laughed and got up from the couch.

Bruce set the Wii remote on the armrest. "Great! You got me thinking about S'mores when we were at that pizza place." He said as he passed Steve and picked up two boxes of graham crackers.

Clint and Natasha gathered the marshmallows and chocolate bars. Thor carried out the barbeque sticks. Steve, feeling useless, rushed over to the sliding door and opened it for them. They followed Thor outside and made their way to the fire pit.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bruce asked as he saw Tony first with his face in his hands.

Tony looked up in a sigh but then glared at him. "None of your business, my ex-friend." Tony snapped bitterly. He didn't really mean that Bruce wasn't his friend anymore. He was just angry and confused with his new found emotions and he wanted to take it out on someone.

Bruce gave him a slightly hurt look and then sat in the chair next to Thor. The order went: Tony, Thor, Bruce, Steve, Natasha, and Clint.

"So, do we put the graham crackers and the marshmallows and the chocolate into the fire?" Steve questioned.

"No, look, just watch me." Tony suggested. "Thor, that goes for you too..and stop eating all of the chocolate!" Tony said and everyone besides Thor laughed because his mouth was full of chocolate.

"But it's so good." Thor said, mouth full. Tony laughed a little.

"Trust me, buddy. It will taste even better when you put it all together." Clint assured him.

Tony grabbed one of the long barbecue forks they had brought out and marshmallow. "You cook this first. You can cook it as long as you want, some people even like to eat them burnt. Not me though, I like to get them just right." Tony said and put the marshmallow on the end of the barbecue fork and stuck it into the fire.

Clint, and Bruce had done the same and Natasha was trying to get Thor to cook the marshmallow instead of swallowing 5 of them hole.

Steve watched closely. He grabbed a barbecue fork and stuck a marshmallow on it and mimicked the others. His was partially burnt on the edge. He frowned, but then as he ate the marshmallow. He discovered that he enjoyed the taste of the burnt bit. He grabbed another marshmallow and burnt it on purpose and ate it. 'Yep. Definitely better.' He thought to himself. He licked the top of his lip, removing the burnt marshmallow bit that was stuck to it. "These taste better burnt." Steve said.

Tony, who couldn't stop staring at the way Steve ate the marshmallows, snapped out of all the dirty thoughts he was having. He wasn't used to thinking about Steve this particular way and he enjoyed it. He had to admit that when he first met Steve, he thought he was very sexy. But then the fighting started and Steve being attractive never crossed his mind again...until now. Tony just smiled at Steve. "Wait until you try it like this." Tony said and grabbed some graham crackers and some chocolate.

Steve blinked at Tony. He felt his heart skip another beat. It seemed Tony always had an answer to every single one of Steve's questions. It was comforting, yet the most uncomfortable feeling in the world.

Tony took a marshmallow that he had burnt a little and turned it into a S'more with the crackers and chocolate. He extended his arm and gave it to Steve. "Your first S'more, Cap. Enjoy." Tony urged.

He watched in curiosity as Tony created the S'more with the marshmallow being just the way he wanted it. Once he was handed the S'more he just stared at it.

"This S'more! I like it!" Thor announced, as he slammed the remaining half of it to the ground. "ANOTHER!" He shouted, causing Steve and the others to ease into a round of laughter.

That was all the motivation he needed. Steve bit into the edge of the S'more and his face lit up. "This is amazing!" He agreed, with his mouth full of sweet chunks of S'more.

Tony was laughing. Laughing because this was so freaking adorable to watch. Yes, as much as he usually despised any and all things adorable, he didn't now. He couldn't with how adorable Steve was with a mouth full of S'more.

"Stare any longer and you'll start drooling." Bruce whispered to Tony as he came to sit beside him.

Tony glared at him. First, because he was still mad, and second, because he was now even angrier, due to the fact that Bruce picked up on Tony staring at Steve.

"Oh come on, you can't stay mad at me forever." Bruce whispered.

"You wanna to bet?" Tony asked and Bruce sighed.

"When did you start staring at Steve like that?" Bruce asked in a very low whisper.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tony lied and turned away from Bruce to look at Steve again. He was now on his third S'more.

Steve pulled his legs to his chest and was now looking at the sky. It was weird to think that a few weeks ago, there was an open portal that welcomed gruesome aliens that nearly wiped them out. If it weren't for Tony, they wouldn't be here around the fire, eating S'mores. He bit into his S'more.

"What would happen to tiny S'more if I used lightning to burn it?" Thor asked, consuming his 29th S'more.

"It would explode." Bruce and Tony answered in unison.

Steve and Clint laughed at the scientists, answering things in unison as if they were twins.

Thor gave them a confused look. "Like a huge fiery explosion?" Thor asked.

"No, it would explode and cover us all in melted, sticky, gross marshmallow that we wouldn't be able to get out of our hair for weeks." Tony explained simply. He was watching Thor very closely now because he did not need marshmallow guts all over himself and the roof.

"That sounds like fun." Clint said, half honestly and half sarcastically.

Natasha furrowed her brows and looked at him. "No. it would not." She said.

"Yes it would! I saw a Youtube video of a marshmallow peep expanding in a microwave and it was one of the coolest things that I have ever seen!" Clint beamed.

Steve tuned Clint out, returning his thoughts and sights on the sky. Youtube? Peep? Microwave? It was too much for him to keep up with.

Natasha rolled her eyes and ate another marshmallow in response.

"Whenever you get home, Clint, you can make a marshmallow explode in your own microwave. You're _not_ going to wreak my house." Tony said and stood. It was around 1 in the morning now and he was tired, due to all of the searching, and fighting, and worrying.

"I'm going to call it a night." Tony said.

"You're going to bed before we do? Is this an alternate dimension?" Natasha teased a little.

Tony rolled his eyes. "No, this is real, and I wouldn't be going to bed if I wasn't so tired because I was lead on a chase for 11 hours." He snapped before he kept walking inside and she smirked at Clint proudly.

"Goodnight, Stark!" Steve called.

"Night, Rogers." Tony said with a wave.

"Tony hold up a minute, I have to talk to you." Bruce said and stood up.

Tony acted as if he never heard Bruce and walked inside. To his utter dismay, Bruce still followed.

"When did you start liking, Cap? That's all I want to know, Tony." Bruce promised and Tony groaned as he walked over to where he kept the drinks to get a glass of Scotch.

**oOo**

"So, what's a microwave?" Steve asked, genuinely confused.

Clint took this question. "Well, it's this box-shaped appliance used in the kitchen to cook food. It zaps some type of science into the food and it becomes cooked." He explained. "You should try putting foil in there. It's magical!" He encouraged with a grin.

"..."

"You don't know what foil is, do you..."

**oOo**

"I'm not talking to you, Bruce. You've angered me and you're making absolutely no sense at all." Tony said as he began walking toward his room.

Bruce still followed. "I know you, Tony. You're looking at Steve differently. You like him, I just want to know-"

Tony turned around and glared at Bruce, "I DON'T LIKE HIM!" Tony hissed.

He couldn't like Steve, he just...no, he couldn't. He would gladly admit, to himself anyway, that he was attracted to him, but he didn't like him. He just _couldn't._ Steve was just his friend. And him being his friend was a _huge_ step up because only weeks ago, they hated each other. He couldn't like Steve. That would just...complicate everything.

"Like who?" A confused Clint asked as he picked up the bag of marshmallows that he had dropped.

Tony's heart stopped out of fear once he heard, Clint, the damn silent ninja assassin, in the room. "What? Like who like what? What are you talking about?" Tony stammered quickly, he was panicking and he didn't know what to do.

"You just said you didn't like someone, who don't you like?" Clint asked curiously, as if this was no big deal.

"Um...I don't like anyone, I dislike everyone, it's a riddle that me and Bruce were doing, right, Bruce?" Tony asked with a smile, but Bruce just looked at him with confusion.

"A riddle? Seriously? That's what you-"

"-We were just messing around! Nothing to worry about, take your silent as the dead footsteps outside." Tony said with a bright smile.

Clint eyed him skeptically. "You said, 'him,' which mean a specific person, a male to be technical. Just tell me who and I'll get out of your hair." Clint said with a laugh.

Tony froze, for some odd reason he couldn't think of a freaking name.

"Fury. Tony does not like, Fury. Always breaking in his house, blah, blah, blah, same old Tony complaints." Bruce lied smoothly and Tony was so thankful that he did.

"Oh, I knew that! I thought you had a good secret or something." Clint said with a shrug.

"No. no secrets." Tony mumbled and began walking back toward his room again. "Night, Barton!" Tony called. He was walking very quickly down the hall, yet Bruce _still _followed behind him.

**oOo**

"So, apparently, Stark has beef with Fury." Clint said, returning with the marshmallows.

"That's news?" Natasha questioned, rolling her eyes.

"Hand me the tiny marshmallows!" Thor hollered, ripping the bag away from Clint.

"Well, I grabbed the marshmallows and when I walked in, Tony was all like 'I DON'T LIKE HIM!' And I asked who and Tony got all flustered and weird and then Bruce said Fury." Clint explained. "The guy is weird when he's tired and pissed off."

**oOo**

"HE HEARD US!" Tony hissed lowly as Bruce followed behind him.

"No he didn't! He heard you say you didn't like someone." Bruce pointed out.

"Still, he's probably-"

"-He's probably what, Tony? You said you don't like, Steve."

"I don't"

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Bruce said.

For some odd reason Tony turned around and looked at him warningly. "I don't like Steve." He said firmly.

Bruce just shrugged. "Alright. You don't like him." Bruce agreed, even though he didn't believe Tony at all. They kept walking and they were almost to Tony's room now.

"But, you do think he's hot or something, right? Because the way you-"

"-If I tell you some things will you go away?" Tony snapped.

They were standing at his bedroom door now and he had his hand on the doorknob. Bruce nodded. Tony was his friend. He wanted to know what was going on.

"I don't like him...but I've recently decided he's not bad to look at. Are you happy now?" Tony asked and Bruce nodded with a smile because he knew that was all he was going to get right now.

"Yeah-"

"-Good, I'm going to bed then." Tony said simply and opened the door.

"Tony wait!" Bruce pleaded and Tony let out a sigh before turning around to face him.

"I'm sorry. About today. I didn't know you'd get that mad." Bruce said honestly.

"Yes you did, that' why you did it." Tony snapped.

"Yeah, Tony… but it was a joke, something you'd do to me and Ste-"

"-I wouldn't make Steve worry like that!" Tony argued without thinking. Once it left his mouth he regretted it because Bruce was grinning like a idiot now.

"Son of a bitch." Tony cursed when he saw Bruce's grin.

"You were worried about Steve?" Bruce asked and Tony groaned.

"You're forgiven. Leave me alone, goodnight!" Tony said and slammed the door.

**oOo**

Natasha took the opportunity to get up and stretch. "Yeah, he may be weird, but does have a good idea." she said. "I'm turning in." she added, walking inside.

Thor yawned. "Tony has announced pop-tarts to be waiting in the kitchen. The faster I rest, the faster they will greet my belly!" He said. "Goodnight, tiny humans." He said, following Natasha.

"Are you going to bed too, Cap?" Clint asked, looking at Steve.

Steve shook his head. "I've gotten enough rest." He stated.

"Are you sure?" Clint asked with a more serious tone.

"Yes, thank you. Goodnight, Barton." Steve said with a smile as Clint followed the rest inside. Steve took in the perfect night next to the perfect fire. He was comfortable. He didn't want that to change.

* * *

**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	3. The Mighty Hot Pocket Disaster

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Three: The Mighty Hot Pocket Disaster

* * *

The next morning, Tony didn't wake up until 12 in the afternoon. It's crazy since he went to bed at a somewhat decent time for him, but…the thing is he didn't go to sleep until five in the morning. Why? Because he thinks he's going insane. He can't get Steve off of his mind and that scares him. Even when he slept, Steve was in his dreams. He couldn't shake him. When Tony walked into the huge kitchen, he saw that Clint was there with Thor, looking for a snack.

"Good morning, Tony," Thor said in his booming voice, he had two candy bars in his hand, "Or shall I say good afternoon because it seems you have slept till mid-day." Thor said with a smile and Tony ignored him. He was very tried, even now, and needed coffee to wake him up.

"Coffee, now." Tony said and walked over to the coffee maker.

"Right away, Sir." JARVIS replied as he started the coffee maker.

"What happened? I thought you were the first to bed?" Clint inquired. 30 seconds later the coffee maker made a DING sound, alerting Tony that his coffee was ready.

Tony took a sip of it and it made him feel a million times better, but still not fully awake. He walked over to the table and sat down.

"Let's just say sleep didn't come easily for me last night." Tony mumbled and took another sip of his coffee.

Clint sighed. "You and Cap both. It seems." He said, shaking his head. He hopped up from his seat and opened the freezer. "Do you have any hot pockets?" He asked, thumbing through the items in the freezer.

"Cap didn't sleep last night?" Tony asked curiously.

"Yes, our dear Captain spent all night under the Midguardian stars." Thor said with a bright smile. Tony was ignoring whatever the hell midguard was.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"It's not like he needs much sleep, Stark. He was asleep for 70 something years." Clint said as he still searched the freezer. "Do you have any or not because I can't find anything in this cluttered freezer." Clint said agitatedly.

"Do I look like the type of person who eats hot pockets, Barton?" Tony questioned.

Clint rolled his eyes and looked at him. "No, you're the type of person who eats donuts and Shawarma all the time." Clint said and Tony gave him a slightly angry look.

"I don't eat donuts all the time." He said simply and Clint scoffed.

"Fury and Natasha found you eating donuts on top of a huge donut-"

"-I was dying give me a break!" Tony said and Clint laughed as he went to search some more in the freezer.

Thor shot them each confused looks. "By the name of Asgard, what is a pocket amongst the hot?" he demanded. "And why would an item of hot be placed in the box of freeze?" He wasn't sure if hot pockets were food or a clothing accessory.

"Thor, you're hilarious in ways you can't understand." Clint said in a laugh, Tony smiled a little for the first time this morning.

"A hot pocket is a type of food. You put in a microwave and eat it." Tony explained.

Thor threw one of his candy bars to the ground. "I demand the box of freeze to be filled with so called hot pockets!" He declared. So far, he loved American food. With his appetite, he needed to eat about 3 times as much as the average person. Having hot pockets in the freezer would be convenient for him.

"Hey, Hey, Hey! Don't go throwing around perfectly good candy bars!" Tony said quickly and stood. He walked over to see that the candy bars were now broken.

"Well, I tried." Tony said in a sigh and moved Clint out of the way to pull out three boxes of different types of hot pockets. "Knock yourself out, kids." He said before setting them on the counter.

"You people are so strange with your food." Thor commented as he watched Tony pick up the remains of the candy bar.

"Yay!" Clint squealed as he attacked the box of hot pockets and set them for the designated time in the microwave.

In the other room, Natasha and Bruce discussed the shows on the TV while Steve read a book.

"So let me get this straight, Doctor Phil helps families, couples, children, and individuals in a psychological way, Doctor Oz is an all around general life enhancer with alternative, yet expensive solutions, and Doctor Who is a scientist who travels in time in a blue telephone booth with a strange name?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah, pretty much." Natasha answered dully.

"Sounds like a lot of damn doctors." Tony said as he entered the room with his coffee. He was still in his pajamas, some sweat pants and a hoodie.

"Look who's joined the land of the living." Natasha said with a smirk at him.

"Yeah, what happened to you, Sleeping Beauty?" Bruce teased. Steve had put his book down and looked at Tony curiously.

"You look like you haven't slept all night." Steve commented.

"I haven't slept much, had trouble getting to sleep." Tony said simply and found it completely amazing that Steve looked as if he had slept like a baby and could run 10 laps if he was asked.

Tony sat in between Natasha and Bruce. "A warning, Thor and Clint are about to come in here with a fleet worth of hot pockets." Tony said.

"Seriously?" Natasha asked with a groan.

"Yup, blame Barton." Tony said and she nodded.

"I intend to." She answered.

"What's wrong with hot pockets? I like hot pockets." Bruce said and Tony rolled his eyes.

""What are hot pockets? I'm assuming things to warm your pockets but I'm probably wrong." Steve said, Tony looked over at him and gave him a soft smile.

"As I told Thor, it's a type of food." Tony said and looked at the TV. "Dr. Phil? Really? I hate that guy! He labeled me as masochistic narcissist." Tony said with disgust.

Natasha shrugged, "Well, he appeals to me more than that Oprah woman. All I see her doing is giving out pointless items to the members of her audience." she said. "Besides, Bruce here wanted to see what the doctors on tel-"

Natasha was cut off by the sound of an explosion that came from the kitchen and the power went out. "I SAID 30 SECONDS! WHY DID IT EXPLODE!" Clint hollered.

"30 Seconds was taking too long! I thought lightning would help it cook faster!" Thor whimpered.

"IT WAS 30 FRICKING SECONDS, YOU IDIOT!" Clint argued.

"I CAN'T LEAVE YOU TWO ALONE FOR TWO DAMN SECONDS!" Tony roared and was on his feet and in the kitchen in ten seconds.

"Ah, don't you love our family?" Bruce asked Natasha with a smile. Tony, and Clint and Thor's yelling we're still in the background.

Natasha shook her head halfheartedly before standing up. "Stark, how do we get the power back on?" She yelled into the kitchen.

"NOT NOW!" Thor, Tony and Clint yelled at her and went back to their bickering.

"Men are useless." She mumbled.

"I'm a little confused. what just happened?" Steve asked.

"Oh nothing much, Thor's just knocked the power out because he couldn't wait on a hot pocket." Bruce said with a laugh.

"YOU TWO ARE LIKE A PAIR OF FIVE YEAR OLDS!" They heard Tony yell. Clint and Thor began yelling back at him.

"I'm going to see if I can smooth things over." Steve said and stood to go walk into the kitchen.

"Please, and get Stark to cut the power back on." Natasha said as he walked past him.

Steve walked into the kitchen and, from the glow of Tony's arc reactor, he found a Thor coated in some kind of sauce and chunks of some kind of...something, a fuming Clint, and a, once again, pissed off Tony. The microwave also had smoke coming out of it. The room reeked of burnt pizza.

"THIS IS ALL THOR'S FAULT! I HAD NOTH-"

"-Alright. Enough with the yelling." Steve said firmly. "You should have known better than to leave Thor in charge of the microwave. So, yes, you're both responsible." He stated.

Tony felt a smirk creep on his face, knowing that the Captain saved him the trouble of lecturing.

"As for you, Stark." Steve started. "You should have had monitored them better." He paused. "Or at least updated your house to be prone to lightning explosions. Or Thor-proofed." He said with a smile. "Honestly, with your advanced technological knowledge, you should be the only person in the world that doesn't get power outages." He finished.

Tony was taken aback. He hadn't heard that 'You're not as great as you think, Stark' tone from Steve in a while. At first, it made him upset, felt like a very quick stab to the back, but then it just made him angry. He was glad Steve had made him angry, it made it _very_ easy to ignore the feelings (if he ever had any) he had for him.

"I can't plan for everything, Rogers!" Tony snapped. "You should know, Captain, that most of this house is Thor-proofed _AND_ Hulk-proofed. I just didn't think I WOULD HAVE TO ARM MY MICROWAVE BECAUSE I LEFT IDIOTS IN CHARGE OF IT!" The last part was directed to Clint and Thor and everyone was yelling again.

Suddenly, the lights came back on and JARVIS voice spoke. "I apologize, Sir. The power should have come back on because of the generators you had installed, but the lighting hit one of them. We are now running on one generator. Most of the house's wiring is still intact, but you will have to come fix a few things to get us running on normal power again." JARVIS informed them and now everyone could clearly see the hot pockets all over the wall.

"Call a cleaning crew, JARVIS. I'm not cleaning this up." Tony hissed and brushed past Steve pretty hard as he left the room to go fix the generator.

Steve sighed and shook his head. Tony Stark knew how to wind things up. Maybe living together was a mistake. It was a good thing he was given the second pick of the rooms. He chose the smallest room of the bunch because that was the room that was the furthest away from Tony's bedroom.

Once the power had come back on, he noticed how big of a mess the two had caused. Pizza sauce was everywhere and the chunks revealed to be burnt pepperoni bits.

"JARVIS." Steve stated. "Don't worry about the mess, we can clean it ourselves." He said, glaring at the two men, before walking away to get some soap and towels in the supplies closet.

**oOo**

Tony was working on wires, circuit boards, and a million other things not too many people would understand. The whole time he did it, he only grew angrier and angrier because of what Steve had said. As mad as it made him, he couldn't get it out of his head. It replayed in his head at least a hundred times and each time it did, he would boil red hot with anger.

How dare Steve say all these things Tony _should_ have done? Tony had done everything right dammit! Hearing Captain America (who is from the freaking 40's!) tell _him_ that he should update his house, was like slap in the face. Tony had prepared for every _normal_ scenario. He had planned on the Hulk wrecking something. He even planned for Thor using lightning in some form. He just never thought he would have destroyed his microwave by frying a freaking hot pocket with it! It never crossed his mind. He thought these people were more sane then that. Apparently, he had given them too much credit.

**oOo**

"You're really pissed off right now." Natasha said with amusement as she entered the room.

"Yes, I am. So, if you don't mind, go laugh about it somewhere else." Tony snapped.

"Over a microwave?" She asked, Tony didn't have to be looking to know she was smirking.

"No. Over the fact that I've invited lunatics to stay with me at my home." Tony lied.

**oOo**

"Making the children clean up after themselves, are you, dad?" Bruce joked from the couch.

"Yeah. I don't think Thor will be using the microwave for a long time." Steve said with a triumphant grin.

"Hey! Tiny human! You do not control my usage of the box that cooks food." Thor whined as he wiped off the counter.

Clint laughed. Even though he hated cleaning, the situation was too amusing for him to be bothered by it.

"Do you need any help?" Bruce asked.

"No, we're just about done. But thank you, Bruce." Steve said, wiping some pizza sauce from the microwave with a towel.

Clint grabbed a spare towel and got the last bit of it off the floor. "There!" He said, exhausted. "Now hopefully Stark will lay off of us for a while."

"I wouldn't count on it." Steve replied.

**oOo**

"You knew something like this was going to happen. Why invite us if you were going to hate it this much?" Natasha asked.

"I don't hate it." Tony corrected in a quick angry snap.

"You sure aren't acting like you love it." Natasha pointed out.

Tony put his work down in a quick slam and glared at her. "I'm angry for reasons you can't understand. So, just get out of here." He said firmly.

Natasha shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere." She said proudly and Tony rolled his eyes and deiced he would do his best to ignore her.

**oOo**

"Good work you two." Steve said as they sat back down on the couch. He scooped up his book and began reading again.

"...is it bad that I still want a hot pocket?" Clint asked.

Bruce laughed. "I would order a pizza if I were you." He said, changing the channel.

Thor grinned. "Pizza sounds delicious!" He admitted.

Steve smiled as he turned to the next page, it seemed pizza was always the answer whenever Tony was upset.

Natasha had kept asking over and over again why Tony was really angry but he ignored her. He finally got rid of her by cranking an AC/DC song as loud as the speakers would go until she left.

"Did you guys get everything cleaned up?" Natasha asked as she entered the living room.

"Yeah. No thanks to you." Clint said.

"I don't clean, you know that." Natasha stated simply.

"We've ordered pizza. It should be here soon." Bruce informed her and she nodded.

"Where did you go?" Thor asked curiously as she set down beside him.

"To see if Stark's face had turned red and smoke was come out of his ears." She joked and both Thor and Steve gave her a slightly confused look.

"It's a cartoon thing." She explained. They both seemed to have a better understanding now, Steve more so than Thor.

"How pissed is he though?" Clint asked with a laugh.

"More pissed than he was last night." She explained and Clint gave a wince.

"Damn! We made him _that_ mad?" He asked with amusement. Tony was pretty upset last night. Him being more upset than last night was hard to believe.

She paused to think about it for a moment. "He's mad at you guys, but...he's pissed about something else that he won't talk about." Natasha explained.

Steve put down his book. Tony's anger issues. Now there's something he knows all too well. He thought of all the events that happened the past few days and then a new thought struck his mind.

"Hey, it might have something to do with that woman that he was seeing." Steve said. "Pepper, was it?" He asked. He remembered Tony mentioning some girl that he called 'his rock.' The only other woman that was around was Natasha and she certainly didn't seem interested in dating. If she was, Steve figured she would go with Barton, due to their past.

"I doubt that. They broke up a few weeks ago." Natasha said.

"How in the hell did you know that?" Clint asked shocked.

"I talk to her sometimes." Natasha explained.

"Maybe he's upset because of that." Steve suggested and Natasha shook her head.

"No, the break up was a mutual thing." Natasha explained.

"That doesn't mean that he can't be a little worked up about it." Steve said and she shrugged.

"Why did they break up? Tony talked about Pepper all the time." Bruce said a little sad to know his friend hadn't told him this.

"Stark didn't think he was good for Pepper. He also thought that the relationship wasn't leading down the road she wanted. She wanted marriage, kids, all of it. And very soon too. Stark just wasn't ready." Natasha said a little sadly. She thought that they were good for each other. Pepper and Tony had been through so much together.

"That is a very saddening. Poor Tony." Thor said sincerely.

Steve frowned. He once again felt bad for being part of the reason of Tony's bad mood. He just couldn't help it. He was used to leading the team. He was about to return his attention to his book, but then the intercom rang and the camera footage of a pizza delivery man appeared on a holographic screen.

"Delivery for Tony Stark?" The man asked.

Clint jumped up off the couch and reached the intercom first. He pushed the button.

"HEY." He growled, masking his voice in a creepy way.

The man jumped at the voice.

"PUT THE PIZZAS ON THE GROUND AND STEP AWAY." Clint said in the same voice.

The man dropped the pizzas on the ground and took off in a sprint.

"We charged all the pizzas on Stark's credit card, right?" Steve asked.

"Of course." Bruce laughed.

"That's the benefit of knowing, Stark. We can use his money." Clint cheered with a smirk and he laughed when the pizza guy put the pizzas down and sped off.

"I'll be right back with our ten pizzas!" Clint said.

"You ordered ten?" Steve asked, shocked.

"Thor is going to be eating most of them." Clint explained before taking off down the hall.

"Should we tell Tony?" Bruce asked.

"I'm not going down there again." Natasha said with a hint of disgust in her voice.

"And I do not wish to anger the man of iron more than I already have." Thor explained.

"Well, looks like it's you or me, Cap." Bruce said, not really minding which one of them went just as long as Tony got the message.

"Ahhh... I got this." Steve said, half regretting what he was about to do, but also knew that he and Tony should talk. He got up and walked to Tony's lab. He noticed the door was open, but he knocked on it anyways.

* * *

**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	4. Hawkeye likes hawks too much

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Four: Hawkeye likes hawks too much, the Titanic set sails, then sinks, and then we set out on a quest for The Harry Potter DVD's.

* * *

"Doors open!" Tony called, thinking it was Bruce. Tony had finally got the power running normally again. He was now trying to prevent anymore Thor-related accidents.

Steve hesitated and then walked inside. He saw Tony wearing a welding mask. He must have fixed the problem. Steve glanced around the lab, feeling uncomfortable by all the unfamiliar technology.

"Stark, I need to talk with you." Steve said finally.

Tony stopped welding the second he heard _that_ voice. He looked up to see Steve, standing there, upright and tall, like a soldier. The way he stood was even pissing Tony off. 'That damned stance!' His mind complained.

"What, Rogers?" Tony spat and went back to welding.

"Stark..." he began and then realized that the welding was too loud for Tony to hear him.

"STARK!" He shouted as he got closer to him. "Can it wait? I'm trying to talk to you!" He shouted, getting slightly angry himself.

Tony stopped welding and lifted the welding mask, giving Steve a dirty look. "I can hear you fine, more then I'd like to actually. So, talk Captain." Tony snapped and pulled the welding mask back down. He was about to start welding again, but Steve grabbed the welder from him in one quick movement and set it on the table.

Steve took in a deep breath and stared Tony in the eyes.

"Okay, Stark." Steve began. "I crossed the line. It's your house. You're the person in charge. Not me." He stopped to take in another breath. "I guess I'm just used to being the one who makes sure things are in order. I'm...uh...I'm sorry I took control." He said, feeling his heart beat faster. He felt nervous, not knowing how Tony was going to react.

"I'm really sorry." Steve said again.

Tony felt a little bit better hearing that, a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but he was still angry. Steve taking control was not what really bothered him. It was what Steve said, about how he _should_ have done this and _should_ have done that. Steve had insulted his intelligence which meant a lot to him.

"Well, that's good to hear...but do I get an apology for you telling me what I should have done? How I should have watched two grown men? How I should have prepared for Thor to zap my microwave and knock out the power? That doesn't deserve an apology? All of your opinions on how I should do things, and how I should update my house…that was a bit out of line too, right? Or do you just honestly think I'm just incapable of preparing for something and I don't deserve your patriotic apology?" Tony said very angrily, he could psychically feel the anger rushing through his body.

At first, Steve had every urge to fight back. He opened his mouth, but before the words spilled out, Natasha's voice came to mind:

_'They broke up a few weeks ago.'_ her voice echoed.

Steve froze in his place. He reconsidered his argument and decided that he was wrong and Tony had the wrong idea. It almost broke his heart.

"Stark...I didn't mean to give you the impression that I doubted your intelligence." He said, looking down at the ground. "If there's one thing that I've learned in my life, it's that I can trust any member of the Stark family with my life." He said softly. "It was wrong of me to accuse you of not handling things correctly. I apologize, Stark." He finished, meeting his gaze lightly.

Tony wanted to be angry, hell, he wanted to be _furious_, he wanted to tell Steve his apology meant nothing to him and to get the hell out. But he honestly couldn't because, the second Steve apologized for everything that was making Tony so mad, he forgave him. If it was anyone else, he wouldn't accept the apology that simply, but this was Captain America. If anyone was honest and upfront about things, it was him.

"Um...I...um," Tony stuttered a little, trying to think of the right words to say and how to say them, "Thank you." He said hesitantly and had started looking at Steve's eyes again.

Those eyes were so blue, and Tony felt like they were tearing through him. Apparently, Steve was still affecting him in ways he didn't want to admit.

"You're welcome." Steve answered with a faint smile. He felt the tension in the air disperse and his body relaxed. It was nice to hear Tony accept his apology. "Also, the others ordered pizza. There's plenty available if you're hungry." Steve added, nodding towards the hall.

"They used my credit card, didn't they?" Tony assumed with a smile as he grabbed his the welding tool again.

"Yeah." Steve admitted. "Barton thought it would be funny to creep out the delivery guy."

"Well, figures. It's Barton. If you can't scare the pizza guy, what fun have you really had in life?" Tony asked rhetorically and was about to start welding again, but noticed Steve was still watching him. "I'll be up soon; I just have to add some more Thor-proofed things to the wiring of the house." Tony said with a slight smile.

Steve found himself laughing. "Okay, Stark." He said, leaving the room. The door closed behind him and he walked out to the kitchen.

**oOo**

Tony found himself working a little faster than he had been. He now felt as if a ton of weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't angry anymore and that made him feel extremely better.

As he worked, Steve's smile, eyes, and laugh kept coming back to his mind...he tried to stop the thoughts, but after a long time, he simply let the thoughts have him.

When Steve got to the kitchen, everyone was already eating pizza. Thor had two whole boxes to himself.

"How did it go? He still bitching?" Clint asked as Steve entered the room. Clint was sitting on the counter with a plate of pizza in his hand. Bruce, Natasha, and Thor sat at the table.

Steve smiled at the sight of Thor with two pizza boxes. "He yelled at me, I apologized, and then he forgave me." Steve stated. He grabbed one of the boxes of pizza and shoved it into the oven. He figured it would be good to have a back-up in case Stark took longer than he thought. He also knew that Thor would be wanting the scraps.

He sighed. Since when did he start caring about Tony's needs so much lately? He grabbed a slice from another box and put it on the plate and sat down at the table with the others. "Typical Stark." he said, taking a bite.

"Doesn't sound like Typical Tony. He _never_ forgives people that easily. I mean, he's still pissed about what happened yesterday." Bruce said.

"You said he forgave you for that." Thor said with confusion.

"Yes, but only because I was pestering him about something else." Bruce explained. He hadn't thought Tony had really forgive him about it.

"Yeah, about what exactly?" Clint asked curiously.

"Nothing, just...getting him to show me which room was the biggest." Bruce lied. He wasn't going to rat Tony's out for possibly having feelings for Steve.

Clint just nodded. "He doesn't usually forgive people though?" Steve asked curiously and Bruce shrugged.

"He does, just later rather than sooner. I don't think he's ever accepted my apologies for something that happened on the spot like that." Bruce said. He couldn't help but give Steve a small smile. "You must be special." Bruce suggested, his own clever way of giving a very difficult hint that no one would ever get.

"I doubt it." Steve said. "I think I just annoy him so much that it's easier to say he forgives me than it is to hear me trying to reason with him." He explained.

Natasha nodded. "That could be. No offense, Cap, but you do know how to use that mouth of yours." She said, taking a large bite out of her slice of pizza.

"No offense taken." Steve said and started eating his pizza.

Tony finally came back up stairs around 3 in the afternoon and saw Thor, Clint and Steve in the living room. "Good news!" He began as he entered the room. They all looked at him.

"If Mr. Trigger Happy Hammer here," Tony said and pointed at Thor, "uses lighting in the house again," he stopped and gave Thor a somewhat angry look "which he better not," He said firmly and looked at Clint and Steve, "We'll still have power." He said proudly but then thought, "Well, at least we should. I don't know what would happen if you put that baby on full blast." Tony said and looked around the living room.

"Where's Bruce and Natasha?" He asked curiously.

"Natasha, who hasn't been shopping in at least 5 years, has gone shopping by herself for once in her life. And Brucey, is in that other lab that you built. Probably playing with science things." Clint said.

"I apologize for the destruction of your home." Thor boomed from the couch. He reached for the remote. "Can we not watch something of higher interest?" he whined.

"NO!"Clint cried, cradling the remote to his face.

Steve cocked an eyebrow and looked up from his book. They were watching the National Geographic of hawks. He burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

Tony has only loved the sound of three laughs in his whole life. First, his mom's laugh. Second, was Pepper's laugh. And, now, Steve's laugh. He thinks that Steve's laugh could possibly be his favorite just because of the way it made him feel. It never ceased to fail to cause him to burst into laughter as well.

"Hawkeye, I believe you have an obsession with Hawks." Steve said while he laughed.

"Hey! Hawks are cool!" Clint defended himself seriously.

"They're just birds. And not even big birds. I have seen birds ten times the size of these puny creatures." Thor pointed out.

Tony, after he found the strength to stop laughing, looked up at the TV. "You want to see hawks, go to the zoo. JARVIS turn the channel to something decent and keep the channel locked there—"

"-Hey!" Clint complained.

But it was too late, the channel was now on some cartoons and when he tried to turn the channel it wouldn't go. "Damn you, Stark!" Clint hissed.

Tony walked behind the couch and put his hand on Clint's shoulder. "Don't worry. The hawks will return to their master someday." Tony teased. Clint shoved his hand away angrily, which only caused Tony to laugh as he walked into the kitchen.

"Check the oven." Steve told Tony. He lowered his head and flipped open his book again.

JARVIS took charge of the channels and had started surfing through the thousands of channels the TV had.

"WAIT! GO BACK!" Thor shouted.

JARVIS stopped scrolling through the channels and backed up a few channels.

"THERE! THERE! With the beautiful woman!" Thor exclaimed.

Steve perked his head up from his book and turned his attention to the TV screen.

The screen held the image of a woman with red hair, stepping out of a car. She was wearing a white pinstripe outfit with a large hat with a bow on it. The scene changed to the view of a large boat with a large crowd waiting to board it. Steve squinted, he noticed something familiar about the scene.

"REALLY! You don't want to watch hawks being awesome, but you do want to watch Titanic!" Clint fumed. "A.K.A the sappiest love movie of all time!"

"...No way!" Steve gasped. "Titanic as in the Royal Mail Ship Titanic? The one that sunk April 15, 1912?" He asked with a growing excitement.

"I take that as you know what it is." Clint said with disappointment.

"Of course I know! That was a huge thing! Even in the 40's people still talked about it! I knew a guy in the war whose aunt was on it and she lived. She even saved the dog she had brought on board with her." Steve said with a bright smile.

Clint, thought that was pretty cool, but the movie wasn't what Steve thought it was. "That's very cool, but you two don't get that this movie isn't a happy one." Clint said.

"Why wouldn't it be? There is very pretty woman here, she has lots of money and a husband." Thor said with confusion.

"Of course it's not. A lot of people died and they never even found the ship..." Steve stopped once he saw Clint's face.

"Wait…They found it? When?" Steve asked.

"A lot of people died? Why their just one some very large boat." Thor said, even more confused. Clint and Steve ignored him.

"I don't remember the year." Clint said.

"The year the Titanic was discovered was 1985." JARVIS interrupted, bringing a large smile to Steve's face. It wasn't that long ago.

"Let's watch the movie, I want to see how they made the ship look, with the technology people have now-"

"Yeah, it's great, the acting is awesome, the effects are cool, but everyone dies in the end!" Clint said trying to point that out.

"Why? Why would all these people die?" Thor asked again.

"The boat sinks." Clint answered quickly.

"What? Why? It's huge?" Thor said and Clint groaned.

"They hit an iceberg." Steve said, happy to be the one explaining something for once.

"Fine. But you two are going to regret watching this. You'll be sad for the rest of the day." Clint announced simply.

"It's just a movie." Steve said.

Clint scoffed. "You've never seen a movie like this, Cap." Clint warned.

So just like that, the three men were hypnotized by Titanic. Even Clint, who was complaining about watching it, found himself glued to his seat.

"This woman is very pleasing to the eyes!" Thor said as Rose walked in wearing a dark, lacy dress.

Steve related to Jack. They both were poor, optimistic, passionate, and they both liked to draw. He felt a smile grow as he watched Jack prepare the drawing.

"Paint me like one of your French girls." Rose said.

Tony walked in from kitchen, he had taken his time eating and even called Rhodey. However, when he came in, the last thing he ever expected to see on the TV was Titanic, but not only was it Titanic, it was the freaking nude sketching scene.

"You have _got _to be kidding me." Tony said.

No one even spared him a glance. They were all fixated on the screen.

Tony thought the movie was good, but he hated how long it was and, personally, hated the ending of the movie. To this very day, he still thinks that there was enough room on the head board for two people. Jack and Rose both could have lived, but no. They made it a tragic love story.

Tony walked into the living room and sat on the couch, and started watching everyone else.  
They were lost in the movie. He couldn't help but notice Steve turning a little red with the site of Rose like this. As funny as this was, Tony couldn't believe it was happening.

'How were these three guys so entertained by this?' Tony thought. He has seen it five times and once was enough for him.

"This-this is not happening. I'm having some sort of horrible nightmare; you guys seriously aren't watching this!" Tony whined. Again, nothing.

"You guys are watching a chick flick." He pointed out. Again, they ignored him. Tony hated being ignored.

"Okay, do I have to get naked for all of you to pay attention to me?" Tony asked.

"Maybe." Clint mumbled.

Tony rolled his eyes and looked at the screen. Rose had finally put her clothes back on.

"Jack's an amazing artist." Steve said with a faint blush.

Tony scoffed. "He just drew a nude woman and your first thought is how talented _he_ is?" Tony asked with a smirk.

Steve's blush darkened and he looked back at the screen.

"You all know how this ends, right-

"SHH!" They all shouted in unison.

"I'm going to go find some tissues. One of you in this room will cry; I just don't know which one." Tony said with a laugh and stood up from his seat.

"They don't die do they?" Thor asked sadly.

"No." Tony answered simply as he left the room. In a way, he wasn't lying. Thor had asked if 'they' died. Not if one of them did.

An hour or so later, the three were still watching the movie. The boat was slowly sinking and Jack was hand-cuffed to the railing and Rose had just gotten the axe. Thor gripped the couch and Clint and Steve continued to stare at the TV, waiting to see what would happen next.

Tony had come back with a box tissues. He was not betting that it was going to be Thor that would cry. He had entered the room when Jack and Rose were now sinking with the gigantic ship.

Thor had covered his eyes with one hand as a vicious sob escaped his throat. Clint and Steve were watching with complete and full attention. The ship sank and now Rose was looking for Jack in the freezing water.

"Now here is where I get angry." Tony said, as Jack finds the head board to get on. Tony being the genius scientist that he was, was more than positive that both of them could have fit on that thing. He just thought Jack gave up too easily.

"Wait...she just promised that she wouldn't let go." Steve pointed out. "Isn't that a little selfish? Shouldn't she be asking the same from him?" He asked, feeling slightly bothered. He found himself disliking Rose a great deal and wishing that she was the one in the freezing water and Jack be the one sprawled out on top of the board. However, he admired Jack's chivalrous side.

"SHH! MOVIE." Clint shouted.

"I hate the images this story has given us" Thor said, blowing his nose with a tissue as Rose was being rescued. Tears were streaming down his face. Steve was more angry than anything, and Clint was still fixated on the screen.

"It's called a movie, Thor." Clint said.

"I still hate it!" Thor cried.

"You and me both." Tony retorted. He hates it even more now because as he watched, he could see bits of Steve in Jack. And if Steve was Jack, Tony was positive that he would have made more an effort to save him.

"Oh _god_. I forgot about this part." Clint said, motioning towards the screen.

Old Rose was standing on the ledge holding the heart pendant over the ocean. She made a strange sound and tossed it into the ocean.

"WHAT!" Thor and Steve shouted.

"Wench!" Thor added, shaking his head.

"Wouldn't that be considered letting go?" Steve asked, tilting his head slightly to examine the screen in a different angle.

"I KNOW. RIGHT!" Clint said, waving his arms in frustration.

"The woman is a selfish bitch and she's about to die." Tony mumbled and Thor gasped.

"She dies?" Thor asked.

"She's old, Thor. She dies in her sleep." Clint said simply. They watched the aged Rose go back to her room and die peacefully in her sleep.

"That's how it ends?" Steve asked, a little disappointed.

"No. Now since we've given everyone sad reasons to cry, we must give them a happy reason to cry." Tony mumbled with disgust as they watched Rose and Jack reunited in death on the Titanic with all the other passengers.

"Okay, I admit. That's pretty amazing." Steve said. He liked the way everything was broken and destroyed and then transformed into something beautiful and perfect. It kind of reminded him of the day Howard Stark injected the serum into his body and he went from being just a kid from Brooklyn to being Captain America. A small smile flickered across his face.

Thor shook his head. "Woman is still a wench!" He said in anger.

Clint smiled. "Actually, this was a good idea. We should watch another movie." He suggested with a large grin.

Tony groaned. "No! You guys get way too into them. I'm also a little worried that Thor thinks the movies are real." Tony said, placing a palm to his forehead.

Thor looked at him with confusion. "Are they not?" He asked.

Tony gave a satisfied smirk. "My point exactly." Tony said.

Clint rolled his eyes before looking at Thor. "Just because it's happening on a screen, doesn't make it real. They were just acting out a story." Clint explained.

Thor seemed to like this fact. "Good! A wench like that never existed then." Thor said happily.

"And what would guys watch next? Another big time movie? Harry Potter?" Tony said with a laugh. He didn't think Clint would want to watch Harry Potter, but _oh_ was he wrong. Tony stopped laughing when he saw Clint grin at him. Tony grabbed a pillow off the couch and buried his face in it.

"It never ends." Tony mumbled. If they watched the first, they would be watching all the way up until the end.

"Please tell me you have the movies!" Clint begged, jumping onto the couch Tony was sitting on.

"What's Harry Potter?" Steve asked.

"It's a movie about a kid wizard who saves the world from this evil dictator wizard, who wants to take over the whole world." Tony explained with a roll of the eyes.

"So you _have_ seen the movies?" Clint said with a bright smile.

"Pepper liked them." Tony replied simply. He hadn't even spoke her name in weeks, but it didn't hurt him as much he thought it would. "So, yeah. I have them. And the books too. Never read them, though." Tony said.

"Where are the movies?" Clint asked seriously.

"I'm not telling you." Tony answered. He wasn't having everyone getting lost in Harry Potter's world until the wee hours of the morning.

"I'll find them. And I don't care if I have to wreck your house to do so." Clint said and got off the couch quickly to search. "You've also seemed to forgotten the fact that I'm a _master_ assassin." He bragged.

"I SHALL HELP YOU SEARCH FOR THESE HARRY OF POTTER DVDS!" Thor shouted as he jumped off the couch.

Steve frowned. Titanic was a story he grew up with. He felt Harry Potter sounded like it would be too much for him. "I think I will skip this one out." He said with a smile. He picked up his book and walked out onto the rooftop.

Tony, wanting to make sure Thor and Clint didn't destroy his house, said, "Look on the bookshelf with the actual books! You'll find them!" Tony said, getting up off the couch he was sitting on.

He wasn't in the mood for Harry Potter, it was always Pepper's thing. Tony had nothing else to do and because he wanted nothing more than to talk to Steve, he followed him out to the roof. He knows that he really shouldn't follow Steve around like he's got nothing better to do, but it was the truth. He had nothing to do and he wanted to be around Steve. He couldn't help it.

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**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	5. Watching the Sun Set

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Five: Watching the Sun Set

* * *

Steve sat down on one of the chairs and brought his legs to his chest. The sun had just started to set, but he would still be able to read his book. He flipped open to the page he was on and started to read, but then paused when he felt a shadow casting over his book.

"Titanic. love it or hate it?" Tony asked, just trying to start a conversion.

Steve smiled and clamped his book shut. "The movie or the actual ship?" He asked.

Tony laughed and sat down beside him. "I mean the movie. How could you hate a ship that sunk? It's not the ship's fault!" Tony said with a clever smile.

Steve laughed. "Well, I think I'm caught in the middle of a love-hate relationship with the movie. I mean, yeah, Rose made some choices I sure wouldn't make, but I really liked the scenes of the ship. It made me feel like I was actually there." He said, with a hint of nostalgia clinging to his words.

Tony was watching Steve's face a little too much. The sunlight was hitting him the perfect way and his eyes were starting to sparkle. "You remind me a lot of that Jack guy." Tony said as a matter-of-factly.

Steve felt a small jolt in his heart. He wasn't expecting Tony to say anything like that. He suddenly found it difficult to say anything to Tony. "...you think so?" He questioned in a small voice.

"Yeah. I mean you both sketch, first of all. And he just acted like you-he did things I could see you doing." Tony said, trying his damnedest to keep his mind from wandering to thoughts of him and Steve reenacting the scene of Jack and Rose in the car.

"Strange. I thought you were going to say because we both drowned in the ocean." Steve said honestly. "I didn't think Stark could grow soft. Who knew." He teased with a laugh.

"I wanted to say that one but it seemed like a cheap shot." Tony admitted with a laugh. "And you were defrosted from the ice and came back to life. He didn't." Tony added and then looked over him with a fake angry look. "And I haven't gone soft." He insisted and Steve laughed.

"I'm so convinced." Steve said sarcastically. "I'm beginning to think the double Stark theory actually happened." He said with a grin.

"Think I'm pulling a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"I'm impressed." Steve stated. "I was thinking more like a Dr. Banner and Mr. Hulk." He said, with a slight chuckle.

Tony laughed at the genius of that comment. "True, Bruce technically is our real life Jekyll and Hyde." Tony agreed. "Well, what do you think I'm doing then? You think I have Multiple Personality Disorder?" Tony asked curiously.

Steve smiled at Tony's compliment and then looked up at the sky. He tried to come up with some explanation. The clouds were tinting with a bright orange and a light pink color. "I'm just saying that you haven't been...acting yourself...lately." He tried.

Tony wonders if that's true. He thought he had been acting pretty normal. he though the only person who could tell anything that was somewhat different with his behavior was Bruce. Tony didn't know if he should be worried that Steve thought he was acting differently. Because he thought how he was acting now was a lot better than how he acted when they first met.

"I'm myself. I've just...moved on from insulting you 24/7." Tony said. "It gets too hard because there are so many things that I could say, but it just gets too tiring." Tony said with a dramatic sigh and a smirk at Steve.

As much as he knew he shouldn't, Steve felt an urge to ask if Pepper was responsible. "You know, you don't have to be nice to me. I kind of enjoy being the one that you take your frustrations out on." He said, turning to look at Tony. "...but I do like being able to talk like this. It's nice to have a friend again."

Tony gave Steve a surprised, yet smug look. "A friend? I'm a friend now? Alert the media! I've gone from Captain America's number one annoyance to his number one friend." Tony said cockily.

"Now I wouldn't say number one friend." Steve replied. "Bruce and I bonded for a long time when you were looking for me. It will take a lot more than watching Titanic and making jokes to take his place." He teased, folding his arms behind his head.

Tony knew Steve was kidding, but he was cussing Bruce out in his mind. Tony deiced to push his luck and joke around with Steve. "Damn! I knew he was cheating on me." He joked. "I just didn't know he was cheating on me with you." He added. "That explains why he's willing to try and trick me lately; because he's trying to impress you." Tony said with a laugh.

Steve laughed. "Me and Banner? Absolutely." He said. "But you back off, I saw him first." He said with a playful look of defense.

"No, you didn't!" Tony insisted. He decided that he loved joking around with Steve. "I knew who he was while you were still a Capsicle." Tony said. "Given, you actually met him before I did, but...I was the first to see him." Tony corrected himself.

"Oh, that's right." Steve said. "Well, I guess you two make more sense anyways. You guys can spend a lot of time in the lab together." He insisted, suddenly feeling bad for bringing up relationships.

Now Tony was amused. He thought it was funny how Steve thought Bruce and Tony as couple made sense. Tony thought if he was in a relationship with Bruce it wouldn't work at all. Bruce was an awesome guy, and an awesome green rage monster, but Tony considered Bruce to be the brother he never had. He thought of him so much that way that he couldn't even find him attractive anymore.

"Yeah, but we're working when we're in there together. Trust me, we're not shacking up in there." Tony assured him with a laugh. "Banner's not my type anyway. You can have him if you really want him." Tony said, sending another smirk in Steve's direction, just to see what he'd do.

Steve ignored Tony and frowned slightly, wanting to change the subject. He knew that he would say something relating to Tony's break up. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to take it back. He turned his attention to the sky again.

"What's the best invention that you've made?" Steve asked.

Tony smiled at Steve's curiosity. "My arc reactor and The Iron Man suit. They changed my life." Tony said positively.

Steve liked that response. He loved whenever someone talked about something that changed their life. He felt that if anyone shared a life-changing experience with you that you earned a special place in that person's life.

"Did you come up with the design all on your own?" Steve asked.

Tony liked that he was getting a little personal with Steve. A few weeks ago, he couldn't imagine himself having this conversion with Steve. They had made good progress.

"For the arc reactor, yes and no. My dad is the one who built the first big arc reactor that powered the Stark Factory for a while. But I technically designed the first miniaturized arc reactor all by myself. I designed the Iron Man suit by myself, but I did have help building the first prototype. After that, I built them all by myself. Then after that, I had to make a few...adjustments to the arc reactor because it was killing me…but that problem got solved...thankfully." Tony said with a smile.

"That's incredible." Steve said in awe.

Steve was genuinely fascinated with Tony's response. He thought it was endearing that Howard Stark played a direct and indirect role in Tony's life. He wished that he and his dad could have had something that linked them together.

"It was killing you?" Steve asked, feeling slightly concerned.

"Yeah, ironic, right? The thing that was keeping me alive was also killing me?" Tony said with a smile despite the grave subject. "But it's all alright now. With some help from my old man-who's been dead for 20 years now and is somehow still taking me to school-I created a new element that serves as the core to the arc reactor. I've been right as rain ever since." Tony said, still thankful that he was alive. Those months, where he thought he was going to die, were rough.

Steve felt an eerie feeling toying with his emotions. It was scary to imagine Tony about to die. Steve looked closely at Tony. "It's strange to think that if it weren't for your dad, we both wouldn't be here." Steve said.

"Yeah, my dad did a lot of things I appreciate now. I just couldn't appreciate them when he was alive because I had no idea what they would mean to me later." Tony said in a sigh. He wished he could thank his dad now, and not just for discovering what kept him alive, but for looking for Steve all those years.

"He was a good guy, I didn't know that for a while." Tony said.

Steve felt his heart speed up. The way Tony spoke of his father made him see something in Tony that he had never seen before. He wondered how many other people had heard those words come from Tony Stark. He didn't know what to say. He smiled and watched the sunset reach the pinnacle of beauty. Bright colors of pink and orange and purple flowed across the sky before them. Steve wished he had grabbed his sketch pad.

Tony had trouble watching the sunset when his eyes were focused on what the sunset did to Steve's face. All the colors dancing across his face and what they did to his eyes? He looked simply stunning! He kept staring at Steve without a care in the world until Steve looked back at him and Tony quickly looked and toward the beautiful sky. His heart was pounding and he couldn't believe how much of an affect Steve had on him now.

"Why did you pick here of all places?" Steve found himself asking.

"Why did I pick this as the location for Stark Tower? Well, at first, Pepper wanted it a few blocks away from here so it wasn't right in the middle of the city and she thought a big building dead center in the city was to...astonish. But I wanted it to be right here because of all those reasons. I like people to see my work, and I don't know, this also just seemed like the perfect place." Tony confessed.

"Oh." Steve said, looking down at the ground. "I'm really sorry I brought that up. I was trying my best to avoid that." He admitted.

"Avoid what?" Tony asked, honestly not knowing what Steve was apologizing for.

"Uh..." Steve began, unsure of whether to say her name or not. He decided he had no other choice. "...Pepper." He stated.

Tony frowned, realizing someone must have told Steve what happened between him and Pepper. He bets it was Natasha, who still talks to Pepper. It still hurt, not being with Pepper, but only because he feels like he wasn't enough for her. He feels like he could have given her so much more if she would have just given him more time. He wasn't ready to marry her, or have kids with her because he couldn't picture his future with her for some bazaar reason.

Overall, he wished he could have been what she deserved and needed. He hates that their relationship ended because of him and him alone. But honestly, it didn't hurt as much when Steve was around. It was as if Steve made the pain go away.

"Don't worry about it, really." Tony promised. "I don't mind talking about Pepper, just because we broke up doesn't mean I can't talk about her anymore." Tony added because it was the truth.

"Pepper is still my best friend, we just...couldn't make it work in a relationship." Tony explained. Pepper was his best friend, he just hadn't talked to her in a while because neither of them were ready to go back to being their normal friend routine.

"I don't want to talk about anything that upsets you, unless you want to." Steve said. "I know I'm not much, but I like to think that I understand what it's like to lose someone special to you." He said softly. It was true. He of all people knew what it was like. It was terrible. There was no way that Tony could be that comfortable with talking about it.

Surprisingly, he wanted to talk about this, he really did. He hadn't wanted to talk about ever since it happened. He wouldn't even talk to Rhodey about it. But now, he wanted to. Because he felt like he could tell Steve just about anything...anything that didn't involve his possible feelings for Steve.

"I'm not as upset as I used to be-I don't I even know if I was ever really upset. Just disappointed and...maybe a little hurt, but I feel a lot better than I used to." Tony said honestly. It felt good talking about this. He had thought that if he ever did, it would hurt. But it didn't. It felt like a weight that he didn't know was being lifted off his shoulders.

Expecting Tony to raise a hand and say that he didn't want to talk about it, Steve smiled with relief. "That's good. I'm glad you still think of her as a good person. I wish things could have worked out for you two." He paused. "Maybe they still will." He offered.

Tony laughed at the thought of that. No. He and Pepper working things out was not happening for two reasons. One, because of the reasons she broke up with him, and two, there was no way he could get back with Pepper with the thoughts he now had about Steve. Steve looked at him as if he had lost his mind, but when Tony stopped laughing, he just smiled at Steve.

"No. Not going to happen. But...it's okay. I may be starting to move on and...she probably has to." Tony promised.

"Well, I'm happy for you then." Steve said. "Moving on is a difficult thing to do. Were you in love with her?" he asked.

Tony thought about that. He felt like he had been in love with Pepper. He's not positive though. He thinks that if he really loved her, he would have been able to give her those things she wanted.

"I'm not sure...I think I may have...but the love I think I had for her wasn't enough." Tony explained. "She wanted all these things I couldn't give her, and If I really did love her...I would have given her those things in heartbeat." Tony said, simply just thinking aloud.

For the first time he felt a little relieved that they broke up. It would have been horrible if he had stayed with Pepper and never realized that he truly didn't love her. Pepper deserved someone who honestly loved her. "So...I don't think I did." Tony said with a small laugh at his realization.

Steve chuckled. Tony was full of surprises. It was really entertaining to watch. He wondered what Pepper looked like and if he would ever get to meet her. "I hope you find what you're looking for. Whatever or whoever it is." Steve replied.

"Me too, but I think I'm getting close to finding it." Tony said on impulse.

He really did feel like he could tell Steve _anything_ and he wasn't thinking of the consequences that could come with him saying that. Tony regrets saying it. He regrets it so much because now he was positive that Steve would ask him who he was starting to have feelings for and Tony didn't know how he was going to lie his way out of this one.

"You are?" Steve questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "And what's Tony Stark material?"

Tony felt extremely relieved that Steve hadn't asked who. He thought that he ever might have let out a breath of relief. "Just this guy I know." Tony said, hoping Steve wouldn't get more curious. "I haven't known him for long but...I've become...attracted to him." Tony said, trying to be honest but not _too_ honest.

"A guy?" Steve asked in shock. "I thought..." He trailed off in confusion. He couldn't believe his ears. Everyone knew Tony Stark was famous for being a playboy, but he would have never guessed that Tony was interested in men. It was surprising.

Tony laughed. "I'm bisexual." Tony confessed. He wasn't afraid to admit it. He hadn't ever been afraid to. "What? Too dirty and shocking for your innocent, 1940's ears?" Tony teased with another laugh.

Steve blushed. "I just wasn't expecting you to...uh-you've always bragged about how many women you've been with..uh...I've never heard you once mention a male, until now that is." Steve said honestly. His mind searched through all the past memories of Tony talking about women. "Are you being serious with me?" He asked again.

Tony burst out into a fit of laughter at Steve's serious reaction. "Why would I lie to you? Of course I'm serious!" Tony said with a bright smile because he still couldn't stop being so amused, even after his laughing fit.

"And I've been with guys before. Amazing guys. I just haven't recently. It's been girls the past couple of years, but only because I can't find a guy who's Tony Stark Material." Tony said with a smirk.

Steve shrugged. "I don't know, you've just always had a habit to play around with me." He said, still not fully convinced. "It must be hard to be Tony Stark material if you've been through so many people. Do you have an ideal person?" He asked.

"I'm not messing around with you, I swear. Just ask Rhodey or Pepper, they would tell you how many guys I've been with." Tony promised.

Tony then sighed, wondering if he should answerthe question honestly. "Yeah, my ideal person, is someone who is very nice and has morals that I could never dream of. The person also is brave and patient. That person is someone who knows how to laugh, someone who can put up with all my crap and still like me. Someone who sees me for who I really am, not just...who I am most of the time." Tony confessed. He had just described Steve (at least how he saw him) exactly! But Tony wasn't worried about it because he didn't think Steve would catch on.

Steve's heart fluttered as he stared at Tony. "Wow." He said. "You continue to amaze me, Stark." He commented, shaking his head. He was expecting Tony to say something about someone being good in bed or something sexual. Hearing this passionate and beautiful desire of his made Steve smile. It was endearing.

"But a bonus for me, is that this guy I'm...possibly into is all of that, but also drop dead sexy. I mean...he is so sexy that I would have to fight girls for him. So sexy that he could be in playgirl." Tony boasted.

He was having fun now because he was bragging about Steve and Steve had no idea. It was almost a game to him now. A game where he could tell Steve how sexy, and awesome, and perfect, he was without actually telling him. And without Tony revealing his real feelings...if he had any-Screw it! He did. He had feelings for Steve and he wasn't afraid to admit it anymore...to himself anyway.

Steve raised a hand to his face and closed his eyes. He tried his best to give Tony a disappointed look, but his smile was still visible. This led to a laugh. "That good looking?" He asked, but continued before Tony could answer. "Well, I guess it's good to have Natasha and Clint as roommates then."

"Yeah, they could fend all the massive fangirl mobs off." Tony said with a laugh. He loved seeing Steve try not to smile. It was so cute and he loved that despite Steve fighting his laughter, Tony had made him laugh anyway. It made him feel special.

"They most certainly could." Steve said. "You also got a super-soldier, a demigod, and a hulk on your side if things get too out of control." It was hilarious to picture the team joining forces to help Tony win over a good looking guy against an army of fan girls. He laughed again. "I'm kind of hoping this happens."

"I'm not! I'd lose my guy then." Tony said with a laugh. "But...you'd like the guy. He's a good guy...like you." Tony said. He thinks he's just taking risks now. He just wanted to see how far he could before Steve figured out anything. It was an amazing thrill to give Steve hint, after hint, and be _almost_ positive that Steve would never get the hint.

"You're doubting our abilities? I'm offended!" Steve pouted. Then he laughed again.

"Well, I already like the guy. He has made you less annoying." Steve said with the corner of his mouth twitching into a slight smirk. "I hope it works out for you two." He said honestly.

"Me too," Tony said and then sighed and looked at the sunset, "but I doubt it will since I can't...tell the guy I have feelings for him-which is just pathetic that's I'm nervous. I'm never nervous!" Tony sighed.

"But the only reason I'm nervous is because I'm worried he won't...feel the same way." Tony confessed. "I'm not used to worrying about this. But this guy-this guy is…different. He's different from anyone that I'd ever had feelings for in my entire life." Tony added seriously.

"Now you're confusing me again, Stark." Steve said. He turned his attention to the sky. He seemed to do that when he was trying to find the right words to say.

"You're willing to fight day and night for this guy, but you're worried about telling him how you feel?" Steve asked. It didn't make sense to him. Then he remembered that he had only been with one person in his entire life. He didn't have much room to talk.

"Yeah." Tony said as if that was obvious.

"He knows me, Steve. Like, really knows me, he knows how annoying I can be, he knows how pissed off I can get at stupid things, he knows all my faults…I'm afraid that he won't want to be with me because he knows how I can get, and how obnoxious I can be, and smug, and cocky… I mean, yeah, he laughs at it sometimes, but I know it must piss him off most of the time." Tony explained.

"I would gladly fight for him, but telling him how I feel may not ever happen. It would ruin things between me and him. Not to mention that we just got a good thing going." Tony added.

Steve frowned. He felt sad for Tony. He couldn't imagine being in love with someone and not being able to do anything about it. He also had never heard Tony speak about someone with so much care.

"You're a lot of things, Tony." He said softly, feeling a strange comfort using his first name for the first time. "And that isn't necessarily a bad thing." He paused. "I could see the fighting causing opportunity for you two make up a lot. Wouldn't that just bring you two closer together?" He asked.

Tony loved the way Steve said his name, it made his stomach do a small flip. Despite his fluttering stomach, Tony smirked at Steve. "Make up sex? Hot, Cap. Didn't know you had it in you." Tony teased.

Steve rolled his eyes. Thanks to his innocent mind, it was obviously not what he had meant.

Tony laughed at Steve's reaction.

"And...I guess it would. The make-up sex would be awesome and so would the angry sex, and the normal sex-he's just so gorgeous that any sex will always be enjoyable." Tony said with a smug smile.

Steve was smiled a little, but gave Tony a warning look that told him to be serious.

"Fine, Captain Innocent…Yes, it probably would, but I'm just...worried that he'd get sick of all the fighting, or how I act, and just...leave." Tony confessed with a shrug, he couldn't help but think of Pepper.

"You're not always going to be the one responsible for the disagreements and arguments. There's two of you." Steve pointed out. "The more you both endure together, the closer you two will become. Leaving from that would be difficult." Steve said.

"Well, unless one of you ends up in the ocean and spends the next 70 years trapped in ice." Steve said with a laugh.

'Yeah, he's done that already, thankfully, before my time,' Tony thought.

Tony laughed along with Steve and then sighed, wishing he could get over his nerves and just tell Steve how he felt. Steve seemed to be reacting just fine when he didn't know it was actually him that Tony was talking about.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen to him." Tony said and then thought, 'at least I hope it won't happen to him again.'

"All I'm saying is if you think about him every day, then he's not someone you can just give up on." Steve said.

Tony had thought of Steve ever since he had figured out that he had feelings for him. Steve was constantly on Tony's mind and he wasn't sure if he would ever get Steve out of his head.

"I have thought of him ever since I figured out that I have feelings for him. From the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to sleep. And even when I'm sleeping…" Tony said as he stared at the setting sun that was almost out of sight. He didn't want to look at Steve. He felt like if he did, he would do something stupid and kiss him.

"I try not to think about him. I don't think anything is going to happen, but...I just can't shake the thought of him. He's always there-always on my mind and I don't know how long I'll be able to...control myself around him." Tony said.

Tony's voice was slightly agitated because he was agitated. He had horrible impulse control when it came to things like this. He looked over at Steve.

"I'll probably just do something stupid and just blurt it out at the worst possible moment." Tony said with a slight laugh and looked away again.

Steve watched Tony struggle with his emotions. It pained him to see him so hurt and confused. This was, yet, another side of Tony that Steve didn't know existed until today.

"I don't think there's anything stupid about telling someone how you feel, but I kind of understand you wanting the timing to be right." Steve said. "This guy is special to you. I get that. But do you ever think that you will fall for someone else?" Steve asked curiously.

"No." Tony said without hesitation.

Tony hadn't even known that he was thinking that way until now. But now that he thought about it, he couldn't picture being with anyone but Steve. He didn't know when it had happened, but it had. He couldn't imagine himself falling for another woman or man. Not with Steve in his life.

"I don't think I would be able to." Tony added. "And if I did, they'd have to be pretty special because...he's the most special person I know." Tony said and looked over at Steve again and gave him a slight smile.

"I want so badly to make a joke about you turning into a sappy romantic, but I have to admit, that's actually really sweet." Steve said with a faint smile. "Is your guy seeing anyone?"

Tony couldn't get over how sweet Steve was being. Him being so sweet was only making him like Steve even more.

"I don't think he is, but I've never really asked him." Tony said. He was curious now, he didn't know if Steve was seeing anyone and that fact was bugging him now.

"Well, Stark, start there." Steve said. He felt the night breeze kicking. He realized that he still forgot to grab his leather jacket out of Bruce's mustang. He sighed. He wanted his jacket.

Tony was very tempted to ask Steve if he was seeing someone, but that would defiantly give him away. Tony also could tell that Steve was cold, so he stood to grab something.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked curiously.

Tony pulled out a blanket from a door that turned out to be a closet filled with blankets and pillows. He came back and gave it to Steve.

"If you keep forgetting that jacket of yours you'll freeze over again." Tony teased.

Steve felt an unmistakable blush appear across his face. "Thank you..." He said. "I know. I keep forgetting. I also keep forgetting that my bike is parked next to the river." He said with another sigh. "I still need to pick that up."

Tony caught Steve's blush, making his heart race.

"I can have someone pick it up for you. They'll pick it up and bring it right here, no problem. " Tony suggested, trying to be helpful.

Steve thought this over and decided that he would rather get the bike himself so he could see the river again.

"Thanks, but I would rather go get it myself." He paused. "Is there any way I could get a ride down there?"

"Sure, I'll drive you down there myself." Tony said with a smile and stood.

"Let's go, I've been dying for a night drive anyway." Tony said eagerly. He was eager to spend more time with Steve. They had been talking for at least an hour now and he didn't want it to end.

"Great! I'll grab the keys to my bike." Steve said as he stood up and walked into the Tower.

* * *

**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	6. Tony, Steve, and the Tree

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Six: Tony, Steve and the Tree

* * *

Tony followed behind Steve and walked into the living room to see Thor and Clint entranced by the first Harry Potter movie.

"You two seriously—"

"SH!"

Tony laughed a little.

Bruce walked into the living room and tried to greet Clint and Thor but he was hushed. He looked at the screen with confusion and laughed a little as he walked over to Tony.

"Harry Potter marathon just started huh?" Bruce asked and Tony nodded.

"Yup, and I wouldn't bother them. They are serious when it comes to this. I bet Clint would shoot you with one of his damned arrows if you tried to turn it off." Tony said.

Bruce laughed. "Why aren't you and Steve watching?" Bruce asked.

"We're going to go pick up his bike." Tony explained, but then quickly added, "And you can't come." Tony hissed.

Bruce arched an eyebrow at him curiously. "Why?" Bruce asked.

"Because you just can't. I'm taking him." Tony said simply.

Bruce gave him a knowing smile.

"Oh! Quit with the smiles! You're _not_ a Cheshire cat." Tony snapped.

Steve came back with his key and Tony rushed him, making sure they got out the door before anyone could follow them.

Steve eyed Tony suspiciously. "What's the rush?" He asked.

"We're rushing because everyone in that house is slightly insane! They'd all come along with us and make some sort of game out of finding the bike." Tony complained. He looked over his shoulder to make sure, Clint, the freaking super assassin ninja, wasn't following them. "You and me can get there and get back. Knowing them, they'd keep us out all night." Tony added.

"You have a point there." Steve said. "Are you sure you don't mind driving?" He asked. "Oh, and which car are we taking?"

"I don't mind at all." Tony answered. "And my red sports car, it's says Stark8 on the license plate." Tony added as they walked to the garage.

Steve's eyes met a large room equipped with various vehicles spaced out evenly. There were probably 20 fancy cars. He walked towards the brightest red car in the room. Tony had 4 red cars. He had no idea what a sports car was, but he knew what the color red looked like. To his luck, he approached the right car. STARK8 was printed perfectly across the license plate.

Steve frowned. "Isn't that a little fancy for driving to Brooklyn?" He inquired.

"What? Do you want to drive a minivan? I don't have one of them." Tony answered with a roll of the eyes. He grabbed the keys where he had them hanging on the wall. "If you want to take an old pickup truck, I don't have that either." He added as he reached the car and opened the door. "All my cars are loud, sleek, and fast." Tony said with a smirk at Steve.

Steve sighed. During the World War II, he was trained to operate aircraft, tanks, and motorcycles. He could probably manage a submarine too. Ironically, cars made him uncomfortable. He wasn't ready for that transition yet.

Steve returned his attention to Tony and gave him a look of uncertainty. "Yet, you don't have a motorcycle."

"Well...I do have one, but I never use it." Tony said, wondering what was about to happen now that he suggested.

Steve's ear perked up and his face lit up. _Now_ he was talking. "Do you know how to drive it?" Steve asked.

Tony scoffed. "Yeah." He said positively. "I just don't because I don't like to wear a helmet and it's pretty fast, so, you're like forced to…unless you want to die." Tony mumbled. He knew how to use the bike, he just wasn't used to driving a bike that fast and sleek. So, he never drove it. "You'd get us killed if you drove it." Tony warned with a laugh.

Steve laughed, but then gave Tony a serious look. "I want to drive it." He said honestly.

Motorcycles felt like home to him, no matter how fast and dangerous. It felt safer than riding in the passenger seat of Tony's sports car. "Can I see it?"

Tony sighed heavily. "Fine, Mr. Fast and Furious." Tony mumbled and walked toward the back of the garage with Steve behind him. "The bike was a gift I got from Pepper. Of course, it can't really be called a gift since she bought it with _my_ money." Tony laughed. "Well, a birthday present is a birthday present I guess." Tony added with a grin.

They reached the back of the garage when they saw something shaped like a bike covered up with a tarp. Tony pulled it off to revival a black, sleek, shiny sports bike. "There it is." Tony said and was starting to think of why getting on this screaming-metal-death-trap with Steve might be a good thing. It would be an excuse to hold on to him.

Steve's face lit up even more. It was beautiful. He went over and sat down on it. He smiled as his hands gripped the bike. With the smallest flick of his wrist, he revved up the bike, emitting a powerful roar that echoed throughout the garage. A large childlike grin dominated Steve's features. He felt infinite sitting on the bike. It was an incredible feeling. He turned to Tony. "Please?" Steve begged with pleading eyes.

Tony was already going to let Steve drive the bike, but if Steve ever gave him that pleading look again, Tony thinks he'd give, buy, or do absolutely _anything_ for him.

"Have it your way, but if I die driving the thing back my blood is on your hands, buddy." Tony said warningly but with a smile. "You sure you want me to be the lame biker chick riding on the back? Because that is a role I've never had to play before and I don't know if I'm comfortable with it." Tony said. He was lying. He was more than okay with it but...Steve didn't need to know that.

"You can drive my bike back if you want. But I will be back here _way_ before you." Steve said with another charming grin. He slipped on one of the bike helmets that hid half of his face. His blue eyes were still visible from the translucent material that outlined the area between his eyebrows and the halfway point of his nose. "Just deal with being on the back and don't let your prince charming catch you grabbing my waist." He said, with a muffled voice.

Tony scoffed as he grabbed a helmet and put it on. 'I'm hoping my Prince Charming doesn't get me killed.' Tony thought.

"Oh, he won't mind. I mean, who can resist Captain America?" Tony teased as he got on the back of the bike.

Steve started the bike up and laughed when Tony instantly grabbed hold of him.

He put the bike in gear and they zoomed out of the garage. Steve laughed as he steered the mechanical demon on two wheels. He had never gone this fast on the ground before. To his amazement, it was a piece of cake to him. He knew the way to Brooklyn by heart. They would be there in an hour and a half with the rate they were going with this bike. He felt his heart skip a beat when Tony held onto him tighter as they turned a sharp corner. He shook it off and focused on the road in front of them. "You okay back there?" He called over the wind viciously whipping past them.

"Um, I'm alive if that's what you're asking." Tony said and closed his eyes when they made another sharp turn. In the air, going faster than this in the Iron Man was nothing. But that was because of the fact that he was in a suit of armor and he knew what he was doing. Now, he was on the back of speeding bike, making sharp turns, and gripping on to Steve because he _needed_ to. Not to mention that it was pitch black. Of course, part of him enjoyed being able to touch Steve, but Tony was a little too busy worrying about crashing to really enjoy having his hands on Steve.

Steve zipped through the last few blocks and made one last sharp turn and then brought the bike to a halt. They were at the nature reserve. He smiled. He loved seeing the river at night. His parents took him camping here once. It brought back memories of watching the stars together and singing songs. "Are you alright, Stark?" He asked, turning around to make sure he was okay.

Tony finally started breathing again, but very deeply and heavily. "You were cutting those corners a little sharp dontcha think?" Tony asked slightly agitated as he had difficultly pulling his helmet off. Steve started laughing at his reaction to all of this, which only embarrassed and angered him. "Felt like I was going to fall off." Tony added as he yanked at the helmet, which was being a bitch because it wouldn't come off.

"Hey, you've got to trust me! I know the way to Brooklyn like the back of my hand. Driving in the dark was not a problem for me." Steve said. "At least I didn't drive on one wheel or do anything fancy. You probably would have wet yourself." He said before bursting into a small fit of laughter.

Tony finally got the helmet off let it hit the grass and glared at Steve. "I am never riding on a bike with you again." Tony warned, as if that would make any difference to Steve, who just smiled at him. Tony was lying, he would gladly ride on Steve's bike...as long as he didn't drive that fast.

"Fine by me! If you would have held on to me any tighter I bet you would have bruised me." Steve teased and Tony rolled his eyes.

"You drive like that on your bike? Because if you do I feel bad for whoever you're dating-I bet they're terrified." Tony

"Ah, the return of angry Stark. How I've missed you, old friend." Steve teased. "And I'm not dating anyone. So, I guess no problem there." Steve shrugged. There was this girl at a coffee shop that seemed interested in him, but it just wasn't what he wanted. Deep down, Steve longed for the very man in front of him. He didn't understand it, but he has been secretly drawn to Tony since the day they met.

Tony sighed, not wanting to be angry but was anyway. He was a little relived to hear Steve was single. "Well, good to know you only enjoy almost killing me." Tony mumbled and looked around the nice green area.

"Why here? Why would you bring your bike here? I mean...what made you come here of all places?" Tony asked curiously. He could hear crickets and night birds and, in the distance, he could make out the form of lighting bugs gliding around the trees. He hadn't seen lighting bugs since he was 7. "I was looking in coffee shops for you. I never thought to come here." Tony added.

Steve cringed at the words coffee shop. 'Stop reading my mind...' he thought. He smiled at Tony's curiosity. "This place is special to me." He said simply, finally taking his helmet off.

"Why?" Tony asked, not even considering if it was too personal or not. He wanted to know everything about Steve. He didn't stop to think if Steve wanted him to know everything.

"This is where my parents met," Steve answered, nodding towards the tree his bike was parked next to. "It's uhh..it's a nice story." He said with a light blush. He took interest in the fireflies that were swarming around the tree. His heart embraced the familiar spot once again. Everything was perfect here.

"Well, we're out here now. Might as well listen to a few stories." Tony said. He wanted to hear whatever Steve had to tell him. He would listen for hours if Steve would let him. If Steve wanted, he thinks he'd spend all night just listening to him talk. "It's a real...beautiful place." Tony added as he looked at the truly stunning forest.

Steve gave Tony possibly the biggest smile that he had given anyone before. He was touched that Tony cared about the special feeling this place gave him. He motioned Tony to come and sit with him near the tree. "I hope you don't mind, it's kind of a long story." He warned.

"I've got nothing but time, Cap. I haven't heard a good story in a long time." Tony said and sat down beside Steve without a second thought. "Besides, you seem like a good storyteller." Tony added.

Steve traced his fingers along the tree trunk until he found the carving his parents did. He smiled when his fingertips brushed against the J and the tip of the S. "Right here." Steve said leaving his hand on the heart engraved in the tree. "My mom climbed a tree every chance she got. Whether there were bee hives, spiders, or ticks, she would climb them. She was on the fearless side. She loved to climb them and look at the world through a higher prospective. She said it made her feel invincible." He said, pausing to glance at Tony to see if he was bored yet.

Tony was memorized. He loved hearing about Steve's parents. Steve knew just about everything about Tony's parents. Tony just felt honored that Steve wanted to share. "She sounds like a very unique woman." Tony said honestly. "I don't think I've seen a girl climb a tree since I was 8, and even then, she fell and swore she was never climbing anything again." Tony said with a slight laugh.

Steve laughed. "Well my mom was different." He said. "And that's what my father loved about her." He felt the edges of his lips tug into a light smile.

"My father, on the other hand, was a lumber jack. He used to work in a coal mine, but he had really bad asthma and breathing problems that conflicted with the coal and dust in the mines. So, instead, he took on lumbering so he could be outside as much as possible." Steve stopped and motioned towards the tree again. "This tree was going to be used to build a stable and as he was about to cut the tree down, my mom, who was already sitting at the top begged him to stop. He lowered his axe and fell in love with her the moment he saw her. Her hair was full of twigs and leaves and her arms were scraped from the branches of the tree. She also wasn't wearing any shoes." Steve blushed, feeling like he was putting too much detail into the story. He checked on Tony, wondering if he had fallen asleep or not.

Tony was staring at Steve like he was telling the most interesting story he'd ever heard. Simply because, it was. Tony has heard a lot of stories, seen a lot of things, but he doesn't think he's heard a story like this. Steve was the most interesting thing in the world to him. Anything he had to say, was important. And hearing about the parents who helped turn Steve into this amazing person he is, made him feel closer to Steve somehow. "Keep going." Tony said softly. Steve was so good at telling this story he could picture it in his mind.

Steve nodded. "So, my dad dropped his axe and she asked him to climb the tree with her. He was shy, but eventually told her that he had to cut it down. She started crying and she told him that this was her favorite tree because it was the tallest one that she's ever climbed. She also told him that if he climbed the tree, he would see why he wouldn't want to cut it down. My father cared more about her smiling again than he cared about supplying a tree to build a stable. So, he tried to climb the tree, but because of his asthma and lack of strength, he could barely make it to the first branch." Steve said as he pointed to the lowest branch that draped above them.

"In hopes to motivate him and keep the tree, she promised him that if he could make to the top that she would kiss him. So then, for the next few months, they spent all their time together. He progressed climbing the tree and within a year, he was able to make it to the top and they shared their first kiss when he was 14 and she was 12. After that, they fell in love and spent every chance they got together. They were so happy when they got to see each other. My dad would tell me that my mom is a new adventure every day, but she is also his home. Ever since then, I've wanted someone who was my every day adventure and my home at the same time too. Whenever I come here I feel at home. I always wonder if I will meet someone who will bring me a new adventure." He said, looking up at the stars. "And that is why this place is special to me." Steve finished with a heartwarming smile.

Tony was staring at Steve, his heart beating very fast. That was the most romantic thing he'd ever heard of in real life. He wanted to be that for Steve. He wanted to be his new adventure and his home. He wanted to be that person for Steve _so_ badly it hurt a little. He wanted to be in the kind of relationship that Steve's parents had. And Tony _knows_ he can be that person for Steve...he just didn't know how he would go about saying that. He could see himself with Steve for years and years to come. It's here that Tony thinks he may have fallen in love with Steve...

And then, Tony realizes that he has.

Tony would do anything for Steve, be anything for Steve, and would stay by his side for as long Steve wanted him there. This was the moment. The moment where Steve was so innocent, pure, and lost in his past and his hopes that this was also the moment where Tony thinks that he may do something _very_ stupid.

"That's...an amazing story." Tony said, letting out a breath. He had to force himself to look away from Steve. He had been staring at him for too long and if he stared any longer, he might finally do something about his feelings. "A very...romantic story too." Tony added, his heart still pounding with realization that he had fallen in love with Steve.

Steve looked at Tony with the same smile plastered to his face. "It means so much to me that you didn't make a joke about it." He admitted. "It's kind of…embarrassing to tell other people." He said with a small blush. "Thank you, Tony." he said. He noticed the sky turned lighter and some birds were chirping. He must have been talking for a long time. "Really, thank you."

"Don't thank me. That was a very...sweet story." Tony said and stood up. He felt like he had move all of the sudden, keep his mind off his feelings. The first thought that came to his mind was Steve's mother's climbing the tree. It seemed like the perfect thing to do right now. Tony had only climbed a tree once in his life. He was 7 at the time and he only climbed to the first branch and got down. This was probably too dangerous since he's never really climbed a tree, but it was better than thinking about how in love he was with Steve. Besides, he also wanted to see how great the view was. Steve's mother loved it for a reason and he wanted to see why for himself. Tony began looking the tree up and down, trying to figure out the best way to start this.

"Tony?" Steve asked.

Tony offered him a light smile. "I want to see why your mom loved this so much." Tony said and placed his foot on the trunk of tree and his hand on a sturdy branch. "You ever climbed up here, Steve?" Tony asked as he pulled himself up into the tree.

Steve watched in awe as Tony began the amazing climb. He had never seen anyone climb it before. He never thought to climb it himself. He had always just admired it and would lose himself in his thoughts. Unless sketching the tree counted for something. This was another new side of Tony Stark. It intrigued Steve. "I haven't, actually." He said honestly as Tony made it to another branch. "How's it look?" He asked, curious.

Tony, heart pounding out of fear of falling and also because of his emotions, looked over his shoulder and could see the pinkish-orange sun beginning to make its rise over the tree tops in the distance. "Amazing so far. I'm going to try and make to the top to get the full effect of everything." Tony said as he placed his foot on another branch and pulled himself up a branch higher. "I may die, but so far, it seems like it's for a good cause." Tony added as he looked down at Steve who was staring right up at him. "I can't believe you've never done this before, If I were you I would have been trying to climb this thing ever since I heard about it." Tony said.

Tony suddenly felt a little guilty now. He was climbing Steve's parent's tree when poor Steve had never done it himself. "How about you come up and I'll just come back down-it is like your tree. It being your parent's and all. You should have dibs on the first climb." Tony said and began to try to figure out how to get back down.

Steve laughed. "It will never be 'like _my_ tree' " He teased. "It will always be my parent's tree and everyone else's tree." He said with a smile. He extended his arm to the first available branch. "Don't worry about it. I'll join you." Steve said, as he made it to the first branch.

It was really easy for him. He _did_ have a scientifically altered body. He smiled, feeling a new found warmth in his chest as he ascended towards the top of the tree. He pictured his mom's smile as she climbed the very branches he was climbing now. He felt a matching smile working its way across his face.

Tony hadn't thought this through. He had come up here to get away from Steve and his feelings for Steve. Now, he had done the stupidest possible thing and invited him up here. Although, when Tony invited Steve, he had full intention of getting down, but now, he was going to have to climb this tree with Steve. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. Now, Steve was here in case he fell. Tony was positive that Steve would be able to catch him. Steve was making great progress and was right below Tony in the matter of two minutes.

"The benefits of being a super solider is that you can apparently climb trees like a monkey." Tony commented.

Steve laughed as he and Tony were now face to face. "I'm not even trying to show off. If I wanted to it would be like this..." He jumped onto a branch above them and swung back and forth and then released himself to a branch 2 feet above the previous branch he was holding onto. Steve shrugged. "Guess I get it from my mother." He joked.

Tony laughed. "Yes, because your mother was also a super solider." Tony joked and looked down at the ground far below him. So much for having Steve catch him. Tony began to climb a little faster, trying to get to Steve because Steve was the only one who could save him if he fell out of this tree right now.

"I've never _actually_ climbed a tree before. I think I'm doing pretty well for myself." Tony bragged. He did feel a little proud of himself for making it this far up. Of course, he was having worries about falling, but he'd rather seem like he wasn't terrified at the moment.

"You know, come to think of it, this is the first time that I've ever climbed a tree too." Steve said. He slowed down a little to let Tony catch up. He could see the cracks of light blue peering above them. He felt eager to see the sunrise through his parent's eyes. They were getting very close to the top. Steve looked down at Tony struggling behind him. He felt a little guilty for tempting his friend who was clearly nervous about climbing. "Don't worry. We're almost at the top." Steve reassured Tony.

"I'm fine." Tony lied. "Don't worry about me, I am loving this." Tony lied again.

Steve just smiled in response as he climbed alongside of Tony.

After about 10 minutes of constant climbing, they had reached the top.

Steve made it there first, only a second in front of Tony. Tony grabbed the last tree limb that would place him at the top, but once he grabbed a hold of the limb, the branch snapped. Tony had a heart racing, horrifying second that seemed like a full minute where he thought that he was about to fall to his death.

Steve heard the snap and grabbed Tony's hand. Tony held on to Steve for dear life. Steve, hardly not struggling at all, pulled Tony up by his hand and back on to a very sturdy branch beside him.

Tony sat there beside Steve on the very thick and strong branch. He breathed deeply and quickly and closed his eyes for moment, trying to process he was alive and that Steve had just saved his life. His heart was slamming against his chest now in a very fast rhythm. "This...this is why I do things with the suit." Tony said as he breathed.

Steve was about to respond, but then he turned away from Tony as a new prospective unfolded right in front of them. It was the most beautiful sight that Steve had ever seen. The light blue of the sky was enhanced by golden beams. The small amount of clouds that lingered in the sky glowed more vibrantly than ever. It seemed that the sky liked to be unpredictably gorgeous whenever Tony was sitting with Steve. However, it wasn't only the sky that took his breath away, it also was the sparkling river, shining as if the water was golden silk. The trees and the hills also darkened and casted various shadows, enhancing the beauty of the sky. Steve literally felt his heart stop. It was beauty beyond compare.

When Tony finally opened his eyes and looked in front of him. The beauty of the sight shocked him. He'd never seen a place so stunning. Almost dying really was worth the sight to see this. Tony glanced over at Steve who was just as stunned as Tony was. Tony was positive he wasn't as astonishing as Steve was when he was shocked. Steve looked as if he was a blind man seeing the sun for the first time. Tony adored the sight. He looked so innocent, so pure, and just...perfect. Tony didn't regret making the climb. He also didn't regret almost dying. Seeing look on Steve's face…seeing the colors of the sun flicker across his face was more than worth it.

"Thank you," was the first thing that came out of Tony's mouth. Steve was the reason they had come up here and Tony swears Steve looking like this was, without a doubt, the most breath taking sight he'd ever seen.

Steve turned to Tony and gave him a look of sweetness. "Thank _you_." He corrected. Tony dared him to follow his parents. It was a gift that no one else would be able to top. It was perfect. He almost wanted to cry.

Tony's heart was pounding for the old reason again. He was so in love with Steve right now, somehow, more than before. "Why would you thank me? I didn't do anything besides almost getting myself killed." Tony said with an awkward laugh.

"You..." Steve's eyes filled up with honesty. "You changed this place for me forever. You..." He cut himself off, knowing that he would probably say something that he wouldn't be able to take back. His heart fluttered and then sunk.

"I what?" Tony asked softly and eagerly. He felt like Steve was going to say something very important. "What did I do, Steve?" Tony asked in a smaller voice because he could read the sudden disappointment on Steve's face.

'You made my parents story come to life!' Steve's mind and his heart screamed.

"You uh...just truly made me see things differently. A good different." He said with a small grin hugging his lips.

Tony bit his lip, trying to keep himself from saying what he really shouldn't. "Remember the guy we were talking about before?" Tony blurted out, his heart racing. He bit his tongue the second the words left his lips. But it was too late to take it back now.

Steve closed his eyes for a long second, hating the fact Tony was bringing up the guy he could never be. He wanted to have this moment with Tony. 'I think I'd like to bring him up here sometime.' the negative side of his mind predicted. He opened his eyes and faked his grin. "Yeah, how could I forget prince charming?" Steve asked.

"Well, I just remembered another reason why I like him so much." Tony said.

Steve masked his hurt look with curiosity.

Tony was going to regret this so much, but he couldn't stop himself now. Tony took a deep breath and decided to just go for it. It was better than not telling Steve at all and just wondering 'what if' for the rest of his life.

"He told me this amazing story about his parents and how they had their first kiss in a tree and hearing him tell the story, made me fall in love with him." Tony said probably talking to quickly than he intended, but he couldn't help it. He was terrified to see what Steve's reaction was going to be. He felt sick. He felt like everything was going to crash down on top of him the second Steve told him he didn't feel the same way, which Tony was sure he would do.

Steve stared at Tony, disbelievingly. His heart was pounding in his chest. Without a moment more, he gave Tony a look of pure happiness and he wrapped his arms around him. He closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips against his and gave Tony a soft kiss. He pulled away and blushed. "Tony…you made my parent's story come to life in one day."

Tony laughed. He laughed because everything was going a millions time better than he ever thought it could. He was expecting the worst case scenario and, instead, had gotten the best. He must have seem like a raving lunatic with all his laughing, but he was just so extraordinarily happy. "You made me fall in love with you in two days." Tony confessed with a bright smile.

Steve's blush darkened as Tony laughed. It was precious to him. He felt his heart beating faster after Tony confessed his love for him. "Thank god." Steve said, feeling his eyes well up with tears. "Because I'm in love with you too." He cried, pulling Tony into another kiss. A tear escaped his closed eyes. He was so incredibly happy that Tony felt the same way. He had always thought Tony was too good for him and hearing him say that he was in love with him, broke his heart with happiness. Steve kissed Tony with passion and sweetness, wanting Tony to feel his love for him.

Tony smiled into this kiss. He had never been so happy in his life. Hearing Steve say the words he never thought he would never have the honor to hear sent Tony on cloud 9. He could feel how much Steve loved him just by the way he kissed him. Steve gave him everything he had and Tony did the same. He wanted to show Steve how much he loved and adored him back. Tony pulled away to smile at Steve who slightly teary eyed. Tony frowned because he didn't mean to make Steve cry. "God, if all my love confessions are going to go this way I need ease up on them." Tony said with slight amusement as he touched Steve's face and wiped away the one tear.

Tony took Steve's breath away. Steve had only been kissed by two other people and one was a tramp who liked him just for his looks and the attention he got. Peggy was sweet to him, but she couldn't live up to Tony. Tony's kisses effected Steve emotionally and physically. He felt like he was dreaming.

"It's the crack of dawn, we're who knows how many feet up high in the air, and we're kissing. You'd think we'd be the first to do this." Tony said with a laugh trying to make Steve do the same. The fact was that as unique as this whole situation was, they weren't the first people to kiss in this tree.

Steve laughed. "It's probably safe to say that we're the first two guys to kiss in a tree at the crack of dawn." Steve said. He grabbed Tony's hand. It fit perfectly in his hand. He gave Tony a dazed smile." Tony, you have no idea how much I've wanted this." Steve said. "I'm not sure how it started, but all I know right now is that I cannot live without you." He said honestly.

Tony's heat swelled with love. He had never heard that from anyone in his life. Not even Pepper. And hearing that Steve couldn't live without him made him beam because that's how Tony felt about him. He never wanted to be apart from Steve now.

"I love you. So much. You have no idea how much. At first, I tried to deny it, because I didn't think you'd feel the same way. I tried to shake you; tried to stop thinking about you but it was impossible. I guess when you're really in love with someone, you can't ever shake them. I love you Steve, I love more than anything in the entire world and I swear...I can be your new adventure and your home. I can be that for you because I love you that much." Tony didn't know when, but at one point, his eyes began to blur a little with tears.

"Dammit." Tony mumbled and he quickly wiped the tears away before they could escape his eyes.

Steve let go of Tony's hands and wrapped his arms around Tony the best way he could without having them fall out of the tree. He closed his eyes. "You were already my adventure. And now I'm ready to accept you as my home." He declared. "You always sat with me and taught me things no one else bothered to teach me. You made fun of me, but that only made me notice you more." Steve said, kissing Tony on the cheek. "You were right, by the way."

"Right about what?" Tony asked, relaxing into Steve's arms as if he had been there forever.

"I wouldn't have spent 11 hours straight looking for you." Steve said, pulling away to look Tony in the eyes. "If you were missing, I would have spent countless years searching for you." He said, with a shy smile.

Tony laughed. It felt so long ago that they were fighting about that. However, in reality, it was only about three days ago. If Steve ever went missing again, Tony thinks he would going through utterly anything, trying to find him. He would stop at nothing looking for him. That's how much he loved Steve. "I was so mad." Tony said with a laugh. "But do you really want to know why I was?" Tony asked and looked up at Steve.

Steve tilted his head. "Because I outsmarted the king?"

Tony gave him a mocking glare. "No! And you didn't outsmart me...just...tricked me." Tony said. Steve laughed, which made Tony smile brightly.

"But seriously, it was because I was worried about you." Tony confessed. "I was scared something might have happened to you." He added. In his prospective, he sounded stupid because Steve was a super solider. Nothing was going to happen to him, but still, he wouldn't be able to help but worry if it happened again.

Steve kissed Tony. "I am sorry about that. I had no idea you cared so much about me during the time." He grabbed Tony's hand again. "It's sweet of you." Steve said.

"Neither did I. I kept trying to tell myself that I wasn't worried, but I was freaking out. That's why I reacted the way I did." Tony explained and the he smirked up at Steve. "I've never been called sweet before." Tony informed him.

Steve smiled. "You were so angry." He noted, thinking back on that day. "Really? Even after all the women you've been with?" Steve asked in shock. He was sure that Tony had tricks to get them to fall head over heels in love with him. He smirked at the thought, realizing he was now in their shoes.

"No. I've been called many things-some good and some very bad-but never have I ever had the pleasure of being called sweet...until now." Tony said and smiled sweetly up at Steve.

Steve could have fallen out of the tree right there and remain a happy man. "Well, you're the sweetest man I have ever known." He replied with a smile. "Hey Tony?"

"Yeah?" Tony said, looking up at him with curious eyes. He didn't want leave this tree, he wanted to live in this moment forever. Dawn breaking, birds chirping, the river following, Steve's arms wrapped around him…he never wanted it to end.

"How are we going to get down?" Steve asked with a small laugh.

"I was relying on you to figure that one out." Tony said.

They both started laughing.

* * *

**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	7. It's Raining Frozen Waffles

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper, and possible Clint/Bruce_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Seven: It's Raining Frozen Waffles at Stark Tower

* * *

WHAT! THEY HAVE TINY CHILDREN!" Thor boomed from the couch.

The credits of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 started rolling, signaling that the movie and the marathon was over.

"Sh! People are sleeping!" Clint hissed. Natasha had fallen asleep in a chair near the couch and Bruce had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He didn't mind, he was tired himself, they had stayed up all night. "Yes, they have children and they go to Hogwarts and learn magic like Harry, Ron, and Hermione did." Clint explained in a whisper. He thinks that his arm may have fallen asleep, due to Bruce laying on it for so long.

"But...they're so petty...and tiny! How can they comprehend the doings of the dark lord?" Thor asked, failing to stay quiet. He looked between Natasha and Bruce. They seemed to be unaffected by his booming voice. "That woman looks angry even as she rests!" Thor pointed out.

Clint let out a chuckle. "She probably is." Clint said with a grin. Then he thought of something hilarious.

"She's probably fighting off the dark lord, Voldemort, in her dreams." Clint said with a wicked smirk to Thor. He wondered what that comment would do to him if she were awake when he said it.

"I WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE OF THAT!" he boomed loudly. He paused. "I am sorry, my friend." He said in a still loud, but attempted whisper.

Clint sighed winced at the numbness in his shoulder. "It's alright big guy, just try to be quite." Clint said, trying to figure out if he should try to sleep here or go to his room.

Then, something hit him.

It was 8 in the morning, Steve and Tony had left late last night, and Clint was positive they hadn't come back. There was only one exploitation.

"Oh my God, Stark took Steve clubbing and he didn't invite us!" Clint hissed in a whisper.

Thor jumped up from the couch. "WHAT! Why would they exclude us!" He had no idea what clubbing was, but he knew that it sounded awesome.

"Shhhh!" Clint hissed and felt Bruce move a little in his sleep and he noticed Natasha had woken up and she looked very pissed to be woken up. "Just...lay back down, it's nothing." Clint suggested hopefully, trying to make sure they didn't face the wrath of sleepy Natasha.

Natasha furrowed her brows. Her features darkened as she looked over at Thor. "Dammit! Do you ever shut up?" She barked.

Natasha turned to Clint. To her surprise she saw Dr. Bruce Banner snuggled on her best friend's shoulder. She raised her eyebrows and allowed her features to soften at the sight.

"Looks like you've got a chick in your nest." Natasha teased.

Clint rolled his eyes. "He's just sleeping. And he's not a chick, he's a giant green monster." Clint replied back with a smirk and he felt Bruce snuggle even closer to him. Clint thinks that, somewhere in his life, he must have accidentally become a comfortable person to sleep on.

Natasha yawned. "Right. I advise that you two idiots don't wake him up. He's worse than I am when it comes to anger." She warned.

"Is Cap and Stark back?" Natasha asked, changing the topic.

"No. Stark, the sneaky bastard, must have took Steve clubbing." Clint said with disgust only because he didn't get to join them.

"What is this clubbing you speak of?" Thor asked. "Do you take a club, go out and hit people?" Thor asked, honestly confused.

"No, you got out to a place where there's loud music, dancing, and drinks." Clint said and for the hell of it rested his head on Bruce's because his neck was starting to hurt. He closed his eyes for moment, regretting not sleeping all night.

Bruce murmured something in his sleep and then smiled.

"It's too easy." Natasha said, resisting the urge to laugh at the snuggling pair. She yawned again. "So, anyways, Cap and Stark. I'm too tired to care about them making it back here alive, so why don't we all get some sleep and then look for them after?" She sighed. Thor probably needed some Novocain to sleep. Stupid gods and they're abnormal lifestyles...

"Sounds good to me, I'm pretty much stuck here, though." Clint said, not really minding that Bruce had him stuck here, just the position they were in.

Thor let out a mighty yawn that could be easily mistaken for a freight train. "I, too, need some shut eye before we set off to find our clubbing Captain and Man of Iron." Thor said.

"JARVIS? Any way to block out the sunlight in here?" Clint asked the room. It was very bright in here and he liked to sleep in as much darkness as possible.

"Of course, Agent Barton." JARVIS said and blocked out all the sun's light from entering the room.

Clint let out a satisfied sigh. "That's more like it." He said trying his best to make himself comfortable without waking Bruce. "Have a nice nap, Nat." Clint said as she stood.

"I intend to." Natasha said with a nod. "Good luck with your sleeping arrangement." She said, walking to her room.

"Should I remove the doctor from your body?" Thor asked. He could lift Bruce, no problem.

Clint consider it and shook his head. "I don't mind. I've slept in much worse conditions. Thanks for offering, though." Clint said honestly.

"Would you like me to accompany the two of you?" Thor asked.

Clint raised an eye brow trying to figure out if Thor was serious. As funny as that sounded, he thinks Thor is very serious. "I...um...if you want to stay you can." Clint suggested.

Thor sat down on the other side of Clint and rested his head on Clint's open shoulder.

"This is not happening." Clint said in a slight laugh. This whole situation was just so unreal and, somehow, he knew that this could only happen to him.

"Well, goodnight, Thor." Clint said a bit awkwardly as he felt the giant of a god snuggle next him. It reminds him of something that a cat would do and he half expects Bruce or Thor to purr soon.

"You humans are so strange." Thor added before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Natasha woke up around 2 in the afternoon. She wished that she could sleep all day, but they needed to go find Steve and Tony. She walked back into the living room and what she saw made her cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

Bruce had a peaceful smile and had both of his arms were clasped around Clint.

Thor, who was snoring, had his head in Clint's lap.

Natasha thought this was hilarious, adorable, and worthy of blackmail. That's why she snapped a few pictures of the sleeping trio on her phone before she woke them.

"Rise and Shine boys!" Natasha called with a smile. She was eager to watch how they would all awkwardly scramble to get up.

Thor pounced on Natasha. "WHY ARE YOU IN MY ROOM OF SLUMBERING?" He hollered.

Natasha stared at him blankly, unfazed. "Thor, sweetie, this is the living room." She explained to him slowly and carefully, as if he was a 5 year old.

"The room in which we live?" Thor blinked in confusion, but then sprang up. "Wait...that means that the kitchen is nearby. That means...FOOD!" He said, rushing to the kitchen.

Clint groaned at Thor thrashing about in the kitchen. "Nooo! It's too early for Thor to being Thoring it up." He laid down on the empty seat that Thor was previously sleeping in. Bruce toppled on top of him in the process. Clint nuzzled the warm body laying above him. "5 more minutes..." He said in a daze.

Natasha, laughing only a little, took another picture without Clint or Bruce knowing. Oh the things she would be able to do with these photos.

"It's almost 3 in the afternoon. We can't sleep all day." Natasha explained.

"Watch me." Clint said sleepily. He unknowingly wrapped an arm around Bruce. He didn't really know or care who was on top of him right now because he was so sleepy. All he knew is that he didn't mind having a warm body on top of him.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I'm afraid that Mr. Stark has authorized that you are unable to operate the microwave." JARVIS informed to an angry Thor.

Thor pouted, but then charged into the living room. He opened the large box of frozen waffles in his arms and started throwing the frozen waffles at Bruce and Clint. "YOU ARE TO BLAME FOR THIS TRAGEDY IN MY LIFE!" Thor yelled.

"Ah man! What the hell?" Clint muttered angrily in a sleepy voice. He opened his eyes to glare at Thor. "Don't they sleep in Asguard?" Clint hissed.

Bruce finally began to wake up when one of the frozen waffles hit him in the back of the head.

Natasha let out a loud laugh. Seeing the God chuck endless rounds of frozen waffles at the cuddling couple was just too funny to not laugh at.

Bruce groaned and his eyes fluttered open. He blinked at the figure beneath him.

"Cl-"

Bruce was cut off by a frozen waffle landing directly in his mouth. It was an unbelievably catch. His look of confusion intensified. It's not every day that you wake up on top of another male and it's raining frozen waffles.

Clint started laughing because it was simply too funny not to laugh at. He also thought that Bruce looked quite adorable with that sleepy confused look on his face and a frozen waffle in his mouth.

"Leggo my eggo." Clint said with a laugh and pulled the waffle out of Bruce's mouth.

Bruce felt a small blush creeping across his cheeks. He climbed off of Clint.

"HEY!" Thor shouted, throwing another waffle at Clint's head. "HOW DARE YOU BAN ME FROM THE BOX THAT COOKS FOOD!"

Clint felt very angry right now.

Because he was still likes having hard, frozen waffles thrown at them? Because he wasn't sleeping with Bruce on top of him.

Clint still wasn't sure why that fact angered him the most.

"I didn't put you on microwave probation! STARK DID!" Clint yelled.

Bruce picked himself off the couch and started gathering the waffles off the floor.

Natasha sighed and went to look for food in the kitchen. She didn't want to lose any brain cells hearing another pointless argument sponsored by Clint Barton and The 5-year-old in the body of an Asgardian God. She also thought it would be good to pack food for their search for their missing teammates.

"But you were the one who commanded hot pockets!" Thor complained.

Clint sat up on the couch. "And _you_ are the one who has the attention span of a squirrel and _you_ blew up the microwave because _you_ couldn't wait 30 damn seconds!" Clint yelled. He sighed once he saw Bruce picking up the waffles.

"Let me help you." Clint said and stood. He firmly believed that Thor should be the one picking them up, but he had a feeling that if he told Thor to pick them up, they'd only end up screaming about that instead.

Thor grunted, trying to come up with a clever comeback. "Squirrels are not relating to box that cooks food!" He yelled.

Bruce smiled at Clint who helped him pick up the waffles.

"And I was only using my powers for good!" Thor added.

"Yes, because the world will fall in to unspeakable doom if your hot pockets don't get made in under 30 seconds." Clint said sarcastically as he grabbed a bunch waffles and stood upright.

"And seriously! Can't you just eat your pop tarts without putting them in something you could possibly destroy?" Clint asked slightly annoyed as he walked past him and toward the kitchen to throw the waffles away.

"I ate all the pop-tarts!" Thor announced as Clint walked off.

"We really need to get going." Natasha said as Clint made it to the kitchen.

"Ugh, fine." Clint groaned as he threw the waffles away. "But let's stop somewhere to eat because I can't deal with Thor when he's _this_ hungry." Clint said seriously.

"Fair enough." Natasha said. She motioned towards the box full of food. "Still needs pop-tarts, unfortunately." She added.

Bruce met the two in the kitchen and tossed his waffle stack in the trash. "I think JARVIS needs a password on the freezer. Thor is dangerous when he encounters frozen food." He sighed. "He better leave the ice cream alone." Bruce said.

"Why? Got a sweet tooth, doctor?" Clint asked curiously, but somehow he made the question sound dirty. He's not sure if he did that on purpose or not.

Bruce gave Clint a shy look. "Uh, well...depends on the flavor." He replied innocently. "I also don't want to come up here after taking a break from the lab and find Thor with his head dunked into the ice cream." He said with a laugh. "Also, Tony has mint chocolate chip." Bruce added with a small smile.

Clint smiled, his heart picking up speed just a little as he watched Bruce. "I love that one. Not my favorite, though." He said, tempted to go see what types of ice cream Tony had. "JARVIS, from now on Thor has to have permission to open the freezer, got it?" Clint asked.

"Yes, Sir." JARVIS said.

"Great. Now let's get out of here so we can go eat." Clint said.

Natasha gave him a firm look.

"And find Steve and Stark." Clint said with a sigh of defeat as he left the room.

Thor turned around, "Pop-tarts?" He asked with a grin.

**oOo**

It was around 2 in the afternoon. Tony and Steve had spent the past hours laughing, kissing and talking without a care in the world. Tony and Steve were both starting to get hungry and they took that as a sign that they should get down. Problem was, how?

"Okay, I say you go down first because I need to know I have someone who can catch me if I start plummeting to my doom." Tony said.

Steve smiled. "Okay. That sounds good to me." He said, lunging his leg downward and grabbing onto the branch below him. Steve turned around and looked up at Tony. "I hope that my backside doesn't distract you." He teased.

"Oh. It will. But I'm used to being distracted by it by now." Tony said with a smirk as he watched Steve begin to make his way down. After he got down a bit of ways, Tony began to follow after him. He was sure to make the same steps, grabs, and holds that Steve made. "Does this count as our first date?" Tony asked curiously.

"I wouldn't know. I've never been on a date before." Steve said honestly. He found it funny that Tony has been on countless dates, but Steve had never once been on a date. He stepped down onto another branch.

"Well, I don't think it counts, a date-to me anyways-involves me taking you out to an amazing dinner and maybe dancing if your into dancing, of course." Tony said with a smile down at Steve. Climbing down the tree was a lot easier then climbing up, and now he wasn't as nervous about falling because he felt that Steve would catch him if he did fall.

Steve stopped climbing for a moment. "I've always wanted to dance with someone before." Steve confessed. "The closest I've ever gotten was maybe 12 women and a Hitler impersonator dancing around me during the Captain America performances." He said, slightly embarrassed.

Tony laughed out loud because he knew very well about Steve's performances. "You mean the Star Spangled Man with a plan?" Tony teased. His dad had showed him the footage when he was a kid. He had almost forgotten about it. Once he met Steve, he was dying to tease him about it. He now realizes he never got the chance to do so.

"Oh _God_! Don't remind me!" Steve pleaded with a laugh. "The costume they made me wear was so uncomfortable."

"You looked great, though." Tony said honestly. "Very sexy in the skin tight suit." Tony said with a smiled. He mimicked a movement Steve had made when he approached a small branch. "But seriously, tonight, how about we go eat, and then go dancing? I know some amazing places we can go." Tony said, clearly enthusiastic.

"I found the whole thing to be too cheesy to be enjoyable." Steve said, making his way down to another branch. He thought back "And I'll tell you what." Steve said. "If you make it down from the tree, I'll go out with you tonight."

"I'll accept that challenge, Rogers." Tony said with a hint of satisfactory. "I made it up here, I'm sure I can make it back down." Tony said smugly.

**oOo**

"I would offer to drive my mustang, but Steve and I barely fit us and Natasha when we were messing with Tony." Bruce said. "Do you think Tony would let us use one of his cars?"

"Probably not, but look at it this way," Clint began with a smirk at all of them, "This is an emergency. An emergency where we're coming to save him. We _need_ to take one of his cars. He can't get mad because this an emergency." Clint said with a satisfied smile at his genius.

"How is going to Burger King an emergency?" Thor asked with confusion.

"It's not." Natasha answered.

"But looking for Steve and Tony is!" Clint insisted. "We're just making a pit stop along the way." He added.

"I would say it's an emergency for keeping you pacified." Bruce commented, nodding towards Thor. He used the passkey to open the garage. He stared at all the vehicles in the room. "Look at this." Bruce said and pointed to a single, on-going skid mark.

"That's from a motorcycle." Natasha said as she stared down at the black mark on the ground.

"Cap and Stark pulled out of here on a motorcycle?" Clint asked with a smirk. "Stark's the bitch on the back!" He said with a laugh. He could see it in his head as clear as day.

Bruce laughed. "I can visualize that! They've been lusting for each other since the day they met. You think they eloped?" He asked, half kidding, half serious.

"WHAT! Man of iron and Captain?" Thor shouted, confused.

"Yes, They've been having eye sex ever since they met." Natasha said as if the subject was so obvious that it bored her.

"Not to mention Tony seems to be a lot more interested in Steve lately." Bruce added.

"They're in Vegas. I bet 100 bucks on it." Clint said surely. It made sense. "Tony got drunk at the club that he took Steve to and asked him to marry him and Steve said yes." Clint said simply. "Now they're in the honeymoon suite of the MGM Grand." Clint added. " I don't know about you guys, but I'm pissed we weren't invited to the wedding." He said seriously.

_'We're going to go pick up his bike. And you can't come.'_ Bruce grinned, he knew exactly where they were. "I say they're reenacting Brokeback Mountain in the middle of the woods somewhere." Bruce said.

"EW! EW! Oh my God just EW!" Clint roared with utter disgust. He did _not_ need to have the image of some of his friends getting it on in the woods. "I'm going to be sick with the thought of Steve and Stark hooking up in the woods." Clint said honestly. "Ugh! It's like thinking of your parents having sex, but only _worse_!" He whined. "Please, for the love of all that is good, someone do something sexy before I lose hope in all things sexual." Clint pleaded.

Natasha furrowed her brows. "Don't look at me." she said aggressively. "Here," she pushed Bruce into Thor. "You two are both attractive. Now kiss or something."

"Um, what?" Bruce asked with utter confusion.

"No!" Clint said suddenly, he grabbed a blushing Bruce by the hand and yanked him away from Thor. "Just forget it. I'll just live with the horrible images in my mind." Clint muttered angrily as he walked away from them, looking for car that would fit them all.

"I am severely confused on what just happened in that sequence of events." Thor said.

"Yeah, Natasha. What gives? Clint thought Steve and Tony together was bad; why would me and Thor turn him on?" Bruce asked in a hushed tone.

Natasha didn't answer and walked forward, the slightest hint of a blush appearing on her face.

Bruce gave her a knowing smile. "Oh. WOW." He teased with a chuckle.

"You shut the hell up, Bruce!" Natasha threatened.

"Let's just stop this conversion! I found a car." Clint said angrily. He felt jealous. 'Dammit!' He knew Bruce wasn't into Thor and Thor wasn't into Bruce, but still! He didn't like that Natasha had thrown Bruce at Thor like that. For some reason, he kind of wished that she would have thrown Bruce at him instead. He's really confused on why he's so jealous. All he knows is that he's sort-of-maybe-just-a-little attracted to Bruce and what can he say? Once he has his eye on a target, he can get possessive.

"I CLAIM THE SECONDARY DRIVING SEAT IN THE NAME OF THOR!" Thor declared, charging to the passenger seat. The car they were taking was a black convertible with STARK3 printed across the license plate.

Bruce scratched his chin. "I should drive." He offered. "I'm used to driving Tony's cars." Bruce grinned as he opened the door and sat down in the driver's seat. He slipped the keys that were hanging on a hook near the vehicle and booted up the engine. The car purred. Bruce adjusted the mirror and put the car in drive.

"How the hell do I get to Burger King?" Bruce asked with a laugh.

"Ask the king's court." Thor said, dead serious.

Bruce laughed. "And where would I find them?" He asked.

Thor pondered that thought. "Ask a tiny human, smaller then you, a infant, they tend to know those sort of things." Thor said seriously. "

"Okay, listening to Thor will get you nowhere—"

"-HOW DARE-"

"-There's a millions Burger Kings in New York. Just drive until we see one!" Clint yelled over Thor which was pretty hard to accomplish. "We'll find one in five minutes." He added.

"Haha! Yes! I shall end the Burger King's rule by defeating him! Then...I SHALL BE THE KING OF THE BURGERS AS WELL AS ASGUARD!" Thor cheered.

Natasha groaned and smacked Thor's head.

"WENCH!" Thor hissed in pain.

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**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	8. Burger King and KISSING

**Rating:**_ PG-13_

**Summery:**_'Tony Stark has invited the Avengers to come stay at the newly rebuilt Stark Tower. Little did he know when he invited them that it would lead to Captain America hunting, hot pockets exploding, S'mores, Titanic Rants, Harry Potter movie Marathons, and most importantly...his feelings for Steve.'  
__A roleplay between two SBFF's (Stony Best Friends Forever) that went on much longer then we thought it would! XD_

**Couple: **_Steve/Tony, mention of past Tony/Pepper, and possible Clint/Bruce_

**Authors:** TeamLadyCay (caycullen: **Cayla** and ladyofgeekdom: **Nicole**)

**Cayla's AN: **Where to begin explaining this marvelous masterpiece...well, I think I should start up with how it came about. Nicole and I met on Omegle (A place to chat online) wanting to do Tony/Steve roleplay. And we hit it off the second we started talking. We have everything in common and we think we may be long lost sisters or clones or something because there is hardly anything we don't have in common. Nicole is the sweetest roleplayer and person I have ever met online and I love her so much, she's like a sister to me. Anyway, once we started the roleplay we thought it was amazing and other people should get to read it's awesomeness as well. In this roleplay, you get a little bit of everything, some action, lots of humor, lots of fulff and even a little angst. Anyway, we both hope you guys have as much fun reading this as we did writing it. Enjoy! :)

**Nicole's ready box thingy: **Hi readers! Here's some things that you should probably know. First off, Cayla is too amazing for me to use proper English. So instead I will accurately describe her existence as DSKAJFAIJ342ir34sdFKLQ#$T3flrk;etkl;e;lrdw;leEQW. Second of all, I hope that this fic gave you as many smiles and laughs as it gave me. I kept the idea of a fanfiction that was all smiles in mind when I was co-writing with Cayla. Third, I hope that you can never go into a Burger King with a serious face ever again. And lastly, ice cream is delicious and I love you all!

* * *

_Branching Towards You_

_By:_

_Cayla & Nicole_

* * *

Chapter Eight: Burger King and K-I-S-S-I-N-G

* * *

Natasha gave a satisfied smirk at she hit Thor. "Burger King. Make a left on H street. There's one on the corner." She said.

"That didn't take long at all." Bruce said as they drove through the traffic.

"I told you it wouldn't." Clint said as they made the turn on H street.

"Okay guys, if we're serious about finding Steve and Tony, we need to think about where they might of went. I'm thinking a club and they're at hotel now or something." Clint said. As funny as it was to image Tony and Steve eloping, it wasn't that likely.

Bruce glanced at Clint through the mirror. "Let's go inside and order food before we make any decisions." Bruce suggested, pulling into a parking space. "Thor, see if there's a map in the glove com-I mean the secret passage on the plastic in front of you." Bruce instructed.

Thor nodded and pulled the latch in front of him and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out an old folded map of New York.

"This map looks as if it was drawn by a tiny child." Thor commented as he opened it out of curiosity.

"It was," Clint lied. "Children have an amazing sense for direction. Didn't you know?" He asked with a smirk.

"Stop it!" Natasha said firmly to Clint, who rolled his eyes.

"What do we need the map for, Doc?" Clint asked.

Bruce set the car in park and shut off the engine. "The map is just...useful." Bruce said, not wanting to be painfully obvious that he already knew where the two were. He smiled. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"Why because you're a doctor?" Clint teased playfully as he got out of the back of the car with Natasha.

"Let's just say being a doctor is an additional perk." Bruce said with a laugh. He got out of the car and started walking with the group into the restaurant. He mentally cursed. They had a built-in jungle gym.

Thor was bouncing up and down with happiness as he walked beside them.

'FOOD!' Thor cheered to himself.

Bruce shot a worried look at Clint and Natasha.

Clint walked a little closer to Bruce and leaned to his ear. "Please tell me you have Stark's credit card. I have a feeling that we can't pay for as many Whoppers as Thor wants. But we'll also need it because I have another horrible feeling that after we eat, he's going to want to play on that Godforsaken jungle gym. And by play, I really mean destroy like it's nobody's business." Clint said with only a small amount of amusement.

Bruce nodded and reached into his rear pocket and pulled out one of Tony's credit cards. "Got it." Bruce said back softly.

Thor, who was in front was greeted by the pleasant swish of the automatic opening doors.

"WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?" Thor hollered as he jumped backwards.

"JUST GO!" Clint yelled back just as loud and pushed Thor inside. His patience for Thor was a lot shorter than it usually was, due to his lack of sleep.

Thor, of course, hated it. As for Natasha and Bruce, it was amusing to watch. It was like watching two five year olds get mad at each other.

"Look, Thor! Food! Go order something." Clint urged before Thor could try to go back to the automatic doors.

Thor whined, but ran up to the counter. He grabbed a tray and slammed it on the floor, alarming the Burger King workers.

"I want 16 hamburgers with twice the amount of ingredients than the original!" Thor shouted at the cash register, thinking it would record his order. The cashier raised his eyebrows, alarmed and confused.

"16 HAMBURGERS WITH TWICE THE INGREDIENTS!" Thor yelled again.

Natasha huffed and walked up to the counter. "Thor. Go sit down." She said, shooing him away. "I'm sorry about that. He's not from around here." she explained.

Clint, who was having a very nice laugh at this whole situation, wanted to scream at Natasha. Once she sent Thor away, the first thing he noticed was the jungle gym.

"Oh Hell." Clint muttered.

Bruce just laughed. "You better go stop him before he harms any kids." Bruce said.

"I know." Clint said with a heavy sigh and began to chase after Thor.

"THOR! NO! IT'S FOR KIDS NOT GIANTS!"

They had only been in Burger King for maybe two minutes...and they had already caused a scene.

Natasha placed their large order and turned around to the sight of Thor pouncing onto some of the play equipment. A parent ran to the slide and scooped up his two crying children. All the other kids jumped off and ran to their parents, screaming. Thor laughed cheerfully as he started climbing further up. The Burger King workers were too afraid to do anything.

"Thor! This is for kids! Not you! It's not made for you!" Clint hissed as he watched Thor climb the playground like it was a mighty mountain.

"That is preposterous! This wonderful, small area of obstacles is a marvelous place to train while having fun!" Thor boomed.

Clint looked around him at the terrified parents. "Go about your day. This is normal...for us, anyway." He muttered.

The parents took hold of their children's hands and walked quickly out of the Burger King.

"Get down, Thor!" Bruce called.

"I refuse!" Thor hollered, climbing further up. He reached to the area with the entrance to the swirly slide.

"Holy Mother of God." Clint said angrily. "THOR! DON'T YOU DARE GO DOWN THAT SLIDE!" Clint yelled.

"I shall do as I please!" Thor called back without a care in the world.

"Did I ever tell you that you'd make an amazing parent?" Bruce asked with a laugh.

Clint smiled a little despite everything. "Don't mock me right now. We could have a Burger King disaster on our hands if I don't get him down." Clint explained. He looked back at Thor, who was about to slide down the slide. "THOR! IT WON'T HOLD YOUR WEIGHT!" Clint roared.

"IT WON'T THOR! HE'S SERIOUS!" Bruce added but it was too late.

"You humans doubt this kingdom's abilities!" Thor declared. He jumped up and down to prove his point. The playground gave out a dangerously noticeable shake, but didn't collapse.

"See!" Thor yelled proudly. Thor skipped to the entrance of the swivel slide, causing the playground to teeter.

"THOR! I AM WARNING YOU!" Clint threatened once more.

Thor sat down in the swivel slide and tried his best to squeeze through the small entrance. He managed to barely slide down in the swirly slide. The playground had finally met its doom and the nuts and bolts that were keeping the playground in place, snapped off.

"YES!" Thor cheered as he reached the end of the ride. He hopped out of the slide with a grin. As he stood, the entire play fortress fell to its death. The poles, the foam, and all the plastic platforms collapsed and fell into one big pile.

Bruce's mouth was to the floor as the entire playground turned to rubble.

Natasha had seen the whole thing. The playground crashing down is what finally sent the Burger King staff over the edge. Everyone in the Burger King had ran out. Natasha sighed and was thankful they at least had the food cooked before they left. She walked to the playground where Bruce was having to pull Clint away from attacking Thor, who set at a table with this look in his eyes as if all his hopes and dreams had been crushed.

"I TOLD HIM! I TOLD HIM!" Clint was yelling to Bruce, to Natasha, to anyone that would listen, because he felt like no one was.

"Clint, calm down!" Bruce pleaded, pulling Clint into a bear hug to keep him from reaching Thor.

Natasha walked over to Bruce. "I'll take it from here." she said, grabbing hold of Clint. She let go of one hand and slapped him across the face. "Calm down!" She said.

"OW!" Clint had roared. "What the hell was that for!" Clint hissed.

Bruce let their bickering fall into the background as he spoke to a very disappointed and sad Thor. "How are you doing there, buddy?" Bruce asked.

"I destroyed the kingdom. That was never my intention." Thor said.

Bruce's features softened. He felt like he was speaking to a very big 5 year old, whose heart had been broken.

"I planned to rule. Not destroy." Thor added.

Bruce frowned and sat down at the table. "I know your pretty upset but, Thor, it's not a real kingdom. It's just a thing for kids to play on and have fun." Bruce tried to explain as sympathetically as he could.

"How can you say that! Thor shouted defensively. "I rode their tube of glory! I was their king! And they were my kingdom!" Thor said sadly.

Bruce tried his hardest to not laugh at Thor's response because Thor looked genuinely sad.

"Stay here." Bruce said and he left the table. A few minutes later Bruce came back with a Burger King crown."The kingdom is in a better place now." Bruce said softly. "And you will always be their king." Bruce said, placing the crown on Thor's head.

Clint who had been as angry as hell was now laughing his ass off. This only caused Natasha to hit him even harder because Thor took this all very seriously.

"Stop hitting me, dammit I'm not a toy!" Clint hissed at her.

Thor was now standing on top of the remains of the playground, about to give a speech as king.

"Oh no. Oh, oh, oh _God _no! Do something!" Clint pleaded. As great as his poker face is, it's pretty much useless when it comes to Thor.

Natasha sighed. "Thor! Your food's inside!" She informed him.

"KINGDOM, I MUST FLEE YOU NOW. FAREWELL MY PRECIOUS KINGDOM!" Thor yelled as he ran to get his food.

Bruce blinked, wondering if the past 30 minutes really happened or not. "What?" Bruce said, turning to Clint and Natasha. "What just happened?" He asked.

"I'm not entirely sure." Natasha said honestly.

"I'm sure of what just happened. It's just too strange for me to believe it. So, I've deiced I'm dreaming." Clint said with a sigh as if coming to this conclusion was normal.

"Right. Well, food then?" Bruce suggested.

Clint and Natasha nodded and left the fallen playground.

"So, how screwed are we?" Clint asked as they approached the counter with 20-something burgers stacked on a tray and a crowned Thor eating two of them at a time.

"Royally." Natasha answered. "I suggest we eat and get out of here before the cops come." Natasha said seriously.

"Cops?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"Ah, don't worry about it. No cop would be dumb enough to try to punish Tasha." Clint said, nudging his elbow towards Natasha. He grabbed a whopper and opened it.

All the Burger King employees, except for one or two, were in the back room arguing about what to do with the group. The two that kept an eye on them were new and had no idea what to do. Really, what do you do when a demigod shouts at the cash registers and then goes King Kong on the playground?

"Yeah. I'm not worried about Natasha." Bruce agreed. "I'm just worried about the other guy. He and cops aren't exactly friends." Bruce explained as he opened a burger for himself. They were going to leave soon, due to Thor practically swallowing the burgers whole.

Clint took a bite out of his burger and took a sip out of a vanilla milkshake on the counter. "Ah, I bet they just enforce us to keep Thor on a leash whenever we take him out in public. Tony's paying for the playground. No one was hurt. All we did was disturb the peace." Clint explained, putting the milkshake down. "Even that, I bet, could be argued as being entertainment."

Bruce nodded, still feeling a little uneasy at the thought of cops showing up. "Alright, we won't have to look for Tony and Steve long." Bruce told them, trying to get his mind off the thought of police doing something to make him snap and hulk out.

Thor dumped a small bag of fries into his mouth and ate them like an animal.

Natasha crumpled the remains of her wrapper and threw into the waste bin. "Bruce can I have Stark's credit card?" She asked.

Bruce nodded and opened his wallet and handed it to her.

Natasha approached the counter and handed the credit card to one of the employees. "Here. Anything and everything that was our doing, please, send the bill to Tony Stark." She said with a light smile.

"It's amazing how problems just magically go away when you have billions and billions of dollars." Clint noted with a grin that made Bruce's stomach do a small flip.

"Thor! Chew your food! I don't care if you're the god of thunder, you could still choke!" Clint scolded like a mother and looked back to Bruce."And you know where Cap and Stark are?" Clint asked Bruce, who nodded.

"I..I think I do. They may have left, but I'm betting they're still there. I just hope I can find that place again." Bruce said trying to think of the exact place that nice wood area in Brooklyn was. He was lost when he found it.

"These golden sticks get cold when they are not eaten quickly!" Thor whined. He opened another burger and devoured it.

Natasha laughed. "I think we can leave now."

"Hell yes!" Clint cheered. "Drop the food Thor and come on! We're going Stark and Roggers hunting." Clint said enthusiastically, trying to get Thor to come willingly. He really wasn't in the mood to drag the man out of here.

Thor looked between the food and Clint. He ate one last burger and then started running to them. "I miss my friends." Thor said with a hint of sadness.

Clint laughed. "And I'm sure they miss you too, buddy." Clint assured him.

**oOo**

Steve hindered on the last branch, waiting for Tony to catch up to him. He looked up at his lover and smiled.

Tony's hearts picks up pace and he's lot more eager to get down at the sight of Steve smile. "I'm about to get that date." Tony warned playfully.

"Don't be too sure of yourself." Steve warned. "There's still plenty of time for..." Steve cut himself off, realizing that he had nothing that could stop Tony from making it to the bottom. "Yeah...I'm yours now, aren't I?" Steve grinned.

Tony reached the bottom with a smug smile. "You are now." He says with a grin and leans into kiss him one more time.

Steve smiled as he pulled away from Tony. He couldn't get over how much he loved just looking at Tony. His heart started to swell and Steve hugged Tony tightly. "I will never forget this." Steve promised.

Tony smiled and hugged Steve back just as tight. He loves being able to do this now, being able to touch and kiss Steve, without worrying about the consequences. He didn't think he would be able to forget it either. It would be impossible to forget being in love like this. It would be impossible to forget Steve. "Same here. I don't think I could even if I tried." Tony said.

Something caught Tony's eye; Steve's parents name in the tree. It gave him an idea. Tony pulled out of Steve's hold. "You know what, we should be sure we never forget it." Tony said with a bright smile.

Raising a hand to his chin, Steve pondered that thought. Steve turned away from Tony and looked the tree up and down. His eyebrows raised slightly and then his eyes lit up when he understood what Tony was hinting. Steve knelt down beside the tree and took out the keys to his bike and started carving a heart beside the heart that enclosed "J + S."

Tony smiled as he watched. This would be here for years to come. They could both come back here and look at it whenever they wanted. When people saw it, they would stop and wish that they had what Tony and Steve had. Just like he felt when he saw Steve's parents' names together. Now, they would be beside them.

"I feel like I'm a teenager." Tony said with a laugh. This was stuff teenagers did, he doesn't know if he should be glad or worried that their relationship is slowly becoming a Katy Perry song.

Steve laughed. "I don't." He said, etching a 'S' into the tree. "I remember being a teenager. And, trust me, I never even came close to getting _this_ lucky." He said, flashing a small smile over his shoulder at Tony.

Tony let out another laugh. This was one of the many reasons he loved Steve; he was very quick-witted. "Well, whoever didn't like you when you were a teenager is an idiot." Tony said surely. "Anyone would be lucky to be with you." Tony said with a smile. "I'm lucky to be with you." Tony added.

"My god." Steve said with a laugh. "I've turned you into the sappiest romantic the world will ever know." Steve said, tossing the keys at Tony. "Here, you finish the other half."

Tony caught the keys and looked at Steve curiously. "Sappy? You think I'm sappy?" He asked with disbelief. Tony didn't want to believe he had turned into a sap. A romantic, maybe, but not a sappy love sick one. Deep down, he knew he was a sappy, love sick fool when it came to Steve. Tony bent down and started carving a very big dramatic 'T' into the heart.

Steve gave Tony a wide grin. "I do. And it's a nice look for you." He teased, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good. I was worried sappy was an annoying look on me." Tony confessed and finished work on his 'T.' Now the heart outlined 'T + S.'

"Our letters look nice together." Steve said, tilting his head. Steve's S was portrayed in an artistic, fancy scribble and Tony's T was bold and stood out. In a way, it perfectly described their relationship.

"They do." Tony agreed and stared at them for a moment. He loved everything about this moment. It was just simply perfect. He looked over at Steve with a soft smile. "I love you." He said.

"And I love you." Steve said, pulling Tony close to him. "Very much." Steve said before leaning down and kissing Tony passionately.

As weird as it was to watch some of his friends suck face, Clint decided to treat this moment as anyone would. Natasha and Bruce were here too.

Bruce was just wide eyed with a smile on his face.

Natasha just looked happy, a little smug because Tony and Steve didn't know any of them were there.

Thor had almost gasped at the sight, but Clint covered his mouth. Thor wasn't going to ruin this epic moment for him.

"Tony and Steve sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Clint sang at the top of his lungs. Somewhere during the song, he let go of Thor's mouth.

Steve jumped 10 feet backwards and blushed furiously. He turned to their personal audience.

"How—W-What?-WHY?" He stammered. This was embarrassing.

Bruce laughed. "Sorry, Cap. Didn't think you were one for PDA." He teased. Steve's blush darkened.

Tony had been caught doing worse things. Being caught doing this, didn't embarrass him that much. These were his friends. And at least they hadn't caught them having sex. The only thing that embarrasses Tony is the thought of explaining how all this happened. He also dreaded telling Bruce he was right. Tony laughed at this whole situation, but poor Steve was as red as a cherry.

"Guys! Cut it out." Tony said firmly and stood. Steve must be mortified.

"Are you kidding me? We find you to swallowing each other and you're telling _us_ to stop making jokes?" Clint asked with a laugh.

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous because you're not getting any, Barton." Tony said.

Bruce laughed at that. "Burn." Bruce said. Clint glared at him which only made him laugh more. "You got burned. Deal with it." He shrugged.

Tony walked over to Steve and held out his hand to pull him up.

"This is so embarrassing." Steve had whispered to Tony as he got to feet.

Tony nodded. "Yeah, but they were bound to find out somehow." He said with a sigh and turned around to look at the group.

"I love a pair of love doves. Don't you, Tasha?" Clint asked with a smirk.

"Oh god." Steve mumbled. Tony just took his hand and held it tightly.

"Let them have their jokes. They'll get over it as soon as they can't think of any more." Tony assured him.

"Yes, so don't shoot them down." Natasha said seriously and Clint rolled his eyes.

"I have a right to tease them about this." Clint said surely.

"Yes, because you're jealous that you have nobody to love." Tony said with a wicked grin.

"I could if I wanted to, Stark!" Clint argued.

"Oh, really? Who? Thor?" Tony teased and Steve laughed a little. Tony then realized that they had gone from being teenagers to being third graders, teasing their friends on the playground.

"My heart belongs to Jane, my family, and my kingdom!" Thor warned. He was still wearing the damned Burger King crown.

"Don't flatter yourself, Thor. You are _not_ my type." Clint said. "And Stark, please don't tell me that you secretly ship me with Thor!" Clint whined. "It's bad enough I know _someone_" Clint casted an obvious look at Natasha. "Who ships him with Banner!

" Natasha's eyes widened and clenched her teeth. "I'm going to kill you." She mouthed, finishing with a fake sweet smile.

Bruce blushed. "Oh _God_. Trying to forget that." Bruce said.

Steve glanced between Tony and the others, confused.

"Uhh...What?"

"Ships, it's fan term, I'll explain later." Tony assured him and looked back at the others. "First, no. I don't ship you with Thor. I have someone else in mind." Tony began and tried not look at Bruce when he said that. "Second, why do you want Bruce with Thor?" Tony asked Natasha with confusion.

"I'm not answering that question." She said seriously.

"I was so disgusted with the thought of you two doing the dirty in the woods that I demanded for someone to do something sexy to clear the image from my mind. So, she threw those two together." Clint said, clearly annoyed.

"And what'd they do?" Tony asked with a bright curious smile.

"NOTHING!" Bruce and Thor said in unison.

"But if Natasha had her way—"

"-Okay if you don't stop, I really will kill you." Natasha said.

The whole conversation split into three different ones. Natasha and Clint began bickering and Bruce was trying to explain to Thor that ships had nothing to do with real ships.

"This, Steve, is what insanity looks like. Our friends are insane." Tony announced.

"Oh I get it! Natasha ships me and Bruce because she finds us pleasing to the eyes." Thor said with a cheery grin, happy that he understood what it meant.

"I swear! One more crack about that-" Natasha threatened.

Steve just looked at Tony and smiled. "Well, I guess it's worth it if I get to be with you." He said, taking Tony's hand in his.

"I don't think they'll notice if we take off. Still up for that date, soldier?" Tony asked, cocking an eye brow and casting a wicked grin.

"You bet." Steve said, with a smile.

Tony grabbed Steve by the hand and the two walked off together, leaving their bickering friends behind at the place where love was possible and stories were created.

_The End...For Now_

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**AN: Comments are loved and appreciated! :)**


	9. Sequel?

**Cayla AN**: There is a sequel to _Branching Toward You_. :) It's called: _The Vacation That Changed Everything _and the first chapter is already up, happy reading! :)


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